“the average price of a 100g jar of instant is €4, for which you’ll get around 11 cups. That compares to about €2.50 for a cup of take-away ground coffee.”
hardly comparing like with like there – you can buy a bag of ground coffee for €4 that will give the same no. of cups and will be massively superior. Take-away coffee is one of the most overpriced products around.
Why doesn’t anyone mention the stovetop espresso as an alternative to yucky instant, and mediocre French presses?
It’s fairly quick, and yields delicious coffee (provided you don’t buy burned beans) that is far superior to what most cafes in Ireland offer. Much cheaper than a t/a latte, and so much nicer than those nasty freeze-dried granules!
Yes indeed, you get even more than that out of a stovetop espresso maker I think..I make two espressos every morning at work and a bag of ground coffee lasts us for weeks.
Laura: I did a whole post before where I rhapsodised about my €12 espresso maker: http://www.cheapeats.ie/2009/02/05/making-coffee-at-work/
Bash not the french press, for they are awesome! Also, aldi have some ground java for a reasonable price i can’t recall, it’s pretty tasty.
While i prefer the ground stuff, i keep a jar of kenco on hand for when the boy wants a rapid cup of coffee, it’s not the most offensive stuff.
Instant decaff generally fares better than ground decaff as far as i’ve found so far, the only exception being the cork coffee roaster’s decaf, which gives a beautiful full flavour that other ground decafs dont seem to think people want. (As far as i can see, if you want decaf coffee you’re expected to want mild coffee, i want punch me in the face coffee that won’t keep me up….)
It can be very cheap to use good quality coffee. A french press can be picked up for around a fiver and a good quality bag can be bought for around 7eur per 250g. This will easily do the average person for a whole week. The difference is incomparable and if the right guidelines are followed (thats where Irish people fall down) it can be hugely rewarding. Coffee can be just as diverse and complex as wine but is cheaper and lasts longer. Love the site btw
I quite like Nescafe Gold Blend, I drink with milk and without sugar which I find takes away the whole taste of coffee. I do also have a perculator, a coffee grind glass thingy with plunger, but at the end of the day I’m lazy and couldn’t be bothered cleaning these items – mind you the smell is so much nicer when you use them!
Love all kinds of instant, even that powdered Maxwell House, its great with hot milk & saccharine tabs-yum!Instant is instant, and it certainly has a place in my trolley.
Taking the time to make the real stuff is worth it -stovetop expresso makers totally rock and are cheap as chips.
Thursday 7 May, 2009 at 12:08 pm
“the average price of a 100g jar of instant is €4, for which you’ll get around 11 cups. That compares to about €2.50 for a cup of take-away ground coffee.”
hardly comparing like with like there – you can buy a bag of ground coffee for €4 that will give the same no. of cups and will be massively superior. Take-away coffee is one of the most overpriced products around.
Thursday 7 May, 2009 at 12:23 pm
True Liam, and as we mentioned here before
http://www.cheapeats.ie/2009/02/13/coffee-phantom/
the cost for the coffee shop of making a cup is about 50c.
Thursday 7 May, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Why doesn’t anyone mention the stovetop espresso as an alternative to yucky instant, and mediocre French presses?
It’s fairly quick, and yields delicious coffee (provided you don’t buy burned beans) that is far superior to what most cafes in Ireland offer. Much cheaper than a t/a latte, and so much nicer than those nasty freeze-dried granules!
Thursday 7 May, 2009 at 12:53 pm
Yes indeed, you get even more than that out of a stovetop espresso maker I think..I make two espressos every morning at work and a bag of ground coffee lasts us for weeks.
Laura: I did a whole post before where I rhapsodised about my €12 espresso maker: http://www.cheapeats.ie/2009/02/05/making-coffee-at-work/
Thursday 7 May, 2009 at 1:33 pm
Oh Jean, I missed that post – excellent reading!
Thursday 7 May, 2009 at 6:51 pm
Bash not the french press, for they are awesome! Also, aldi have some ground java for a reasonable price i can’t recall, it’s pretty tasty.
While i prefer the ground stuff, i keep a jar of kenco on hand for when the boy wants a rapid cup of coffee, it’s not the most offensive stuff.
Instant decaff generally fares better than ground decaff as far as i’ve found so far, the only exception being the cork coffee roaster’s decaf, which gives a beautiful full flavour that other ground decafs dont seem to think people want. (As far as i can see, if you want decaf coffee you’re expected to want mild coffee, i want punch me in the face coffee that won’t keep me up….)
Thursday 7 May, 2009 at 7:27 pm
It can be very cheap to use good quality coffee. A french press can be picked up for around a fiver and a good quality bag can be bought for around 7eur per 250g. This will easily do the average person for a whole week. The difference is incomparable and if the right guidelines are followed (thats where Irish people fall down) it can be hugely rewarding. Coffee can be just as diverse and complex as wine but is cheaper and lasts longer. Love the site btw
Thursday 7 May, 2009 at 9:08 pm
I am a coffee addict. I can’t get through the day without several mugs of the stuff. For my money, Dowe Egberts is the best instant.
Friday 8 May, 2009 at 1:10 pm
I quite like Nescafe Gold Blend, I drink with milk and without sugar which I find takes away the whole taste of coffee. I do also have a perculator, a coffee grind glass thingy with plunger, but at the end of the day I’m lazy and couldn’t be bothered cleaning these items – mind you the smell is so much nicer when you use them!
Friday 15 May, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Love all kinds of instant, even that powdered Maxwell House, its great with hot milk & saccharine tabs-yum!Instant is instant, and it certainly has a place in my trolley.
Taking the time to make the real stuff is worth it -stovetop expresso makers totally rock and are cheap as chips.