Most normal coffee consumers make and drink their coffee at home. Yet, outfits like Starbucks, Coffee Bean, and Dutch Bros have made billions for those of you who prefer to buy “out” from your home. Perhaps we should delve deeper into coffee craziness.
From Pauline Frommer:
To help in that regard, a recent analysis by personal finance site SavingSpot reveals the cost of a cup of coffee around the United States. Number crunchers considered data collected at MenuWithPrice.com for 10,000 coffee shops in 2,500 cities across the nation.
Should it come as a surprise that the state that’s most vocal about its love for java also has the highest prices for the stuff? I’m talking about Washington State, which has 5 of the 10 most expensive coffee cities, with Seattle the priciest of all at $3.92 per cup. Next came Olympia ($3.76), Tacoma and Kennewick ($3.49), and Bremerton ($3.32).
The first city outside of Washington to make an appearance is in New York, but it’s not the city of the same name—it’s state capital Albany in sixth place with average coffee prices of $3.19 per cup.
Where is coffee cheapest? That would be in another state capital: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania ($1.18), followed by Central Florida theme-park hub Kissimmee ($1.24); Phoenix ($1.25); Gainesville, Florida, and Des Moines, Iowa ($1.28); and Ann Arbor, Michigan ($1.33). FYI, McDonald’s still has coffee for a dollar last time I checked. And it is not too bad.
I am not certain where she got her numbers. But at $4 a cup, the price quickly adds up. For a couple traveling together, that is almost $10, tip included. So, on a typical 3–4-night trip, the coffee bill alone is about $40.
Now, I always bring my own, Peet’s French Roast, of course. Over the course of ten years, the typical savings (using 10 cups a month) are roughly $6,000, enough to go on another nice trip! Or in my case, about 20 years of travel translates to $12,000 in coffee alone. Wow! I can afford the Orient Express or First Class on Singapore Airlines with my savings!!!
Ironically, the most interesting coffee I have ever had was in Laos. Our guide reluctantly took us to the daily wet market, where we saw all sorts of illegal food items for sale. When Mr. Mike asked where he could get a cup of coffee, he shepherded us over to a makeshift stand of wooden planks and discarded crates. We asked for three cups of coffee. The vendor proceeded to pull out a well-used, dark brown tube sock. He ground some beans and poured them into the tube sock. He lined up three paper cups and proceeded to fill each one with the coffee dripping from the bottom of the tube sock. You had to see it to believe it!!!!
Believe it or not, some people are addicted to the Starbucks paper cup. I think they view it as a status symbol. Conversely, I love the diehards who bring their coffee from home in their own container or a throwback, the coffee thermos. You remember Ben Affleck in “The Accountant”?
Add to this entire equation the amount of time wasted, both on and off the clock in the pursuit of coffee. Just ten minutes on the clock means you are cheating your employer 2420 minutes a year!
Now, I am not going to tell you that I never buy coffee out. Certainly, I meet friends for coffee, or have a coffee with my breakfast if I go out. And missing from my calculations are hotels where breakfast is included.
Yes, if I look to kill some time, perhaps too early for work or to catch a plane at the airport, I will have a cup of coffee. And I try my hardest to avoid the coffee on the plane. The stories about water storage on an airplane are true, and much worse than reported.I am certainly not trying to discourage anyone from their “dirty” pleasures. Nor am I dismissing the satisfaction (or even a jump start) you may derive from a highly caffeinated morning. I just had no idea that the time and money spent on the morning coffee was so costly!
A little secret: I went to Peet’s this morning on my way home.
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