No more expensive coffee cups
I wrote about this topic recently as I felt it was getting out of hand buying the L'or Sontuoso coffee cups for us both especially during long days of work (not looking at anyone in particular here) the coffee intake seemed to get higher and higher. I remember @millycf1976 mentioning in a comment that she'd be interested to find out how it reflects on my budget if I keep this up. So this one is not only for myself but also for Milly..
Double costly
Now let me explain that the expenses were double the pain due to me aiming for perfection and only drinking the coffee with Completa coffee creamer (read: imported stuff as they don't sell it in the supermarkets here). So not only were we using expensive cups, bottled water and expensive creamer over regular milk but the cups also seemed to last shorter and shorter.
My boyfriend isn't so difficult about coffee
He's not as fussy as I am, I admit, I'm a coffee princess and want it to be enjoyable and not just for the caffeine boost. In fact, I already learned by just trying it out of necessity (read: we were out of cups lol) that the decaf cups from L'or (the stronger version of the two options they sell) are really ok. But still, the balance needs to be exactly as I like it. This is precisely why I'm often disappointed drinking coffee in a cafe or bar (except for the Honest Greens coffee in Madrid, that was a gift from heaven!)
But as my boyfriend is not such a prince but just followed my lead because you know, he also deserves to drink a good coffee, haha, he also told me to buy the supermarket cups to at least drink these half of the time. I tried them again and I really don't fancy them hot. They lack something and don't give me the pleasure. But they also have a stronger version "Extra Forte" from this supermarket brand which costs €3,50 for 20 cups vs €4,25 for 10 of the expensive ones (or if available just below € 8 for 20 cups, but these are often sold out). That's more than half of the price, ouch!
Completa stash
As I decided to make this change just after I ordered a new batch of Completa coffee creamer, it's a bit hard to find out what I save exactly because I didn't keep track on when my boyfriend opened a new bottle of that. I do think (looking at how big the stash still is) that this is going to last a few months, instead of me having to order it every month / 5 weeks. That's great because of the shipping fees, I don't want to order just 4 packs but order 6-8 and it was disappearing like madness in the recent months before I stopped drinking it. I also had the feeling this was one of these things I needed to rule out of my diet now that I'm trying to learn more about that and get healthier by doing so.
What I do know is...
That my box of 20 cups extra forte lasts twice as long as my boyfriend's box of Columbia cups. So the biggest coffee drinker is my boyfriend, but I can see why that is as he needs to stay focussed and I rather have him drink that than reaching for the energy drinks ;) but it also means that I can see clearly where the biggest expense was when we both drank it. I had the suspicion but wasn't sure, until I've kept track of when I bought a new box.
Less coffee for me
I also try to cut down my iced coffee prepping from 3 to 2 cups most days, sometimes it means that I prep a new batch earlier so let's say half of the week I stick to 2 cups of coffee a day and the other half I have 3. I cut out regular sugar completely and bought a big pot of honey, I don't measure that yet (which I plan on starting because I want to know how much I eat of it daily so it's within a healthy amount) and I just add cinnamon by hand without measuring as well. The cinnamon is a must but I have to say that I would love to try to copy the Honest Greens coffee recipe with coconut milk, caramel that I Had in Madrid because man, that was the surprise of the day!
Milk
I started buying whole milk until there was a week that there was only milk without lactose available at Lidl and that was actually ok, not the same but doable. It kind of messed up my coffee pleasure but it was better than nothing. When I decided maybe to keep doing that and bought lactose free milk at another supermarket, I had a horrible few days of coffee as it was disgusting and tasted bad. Now I'm luckily finishing the final packs of lactose free milk we already bought in another supermarket (these are ok though) and then I will probably go back to whole milk again.
Costs vs health
I'm not 100% sure yet how much I save on the coffee intake on my end besides less than half of the costs for the cups and knowing that milk is cheaper than powdered milk as it's imported, but I do know that I'm doing my body a favour ruling out the regular sugar when drinking coffee and I'm going to explore that part a bit more to make sure that now I'm not adding too much honey for example and if so, change up the "recipe" of my coffee a bit.
I can live with drinking 2 cups a day because the volume of the coffee is bigger now that I mix it up in a bottle so I have more "coffee moments" than when I drank it hot. It's important to me though that it's also maintaining to a healthier intake, but I also know that other types of milk will add to the costs. Let's say I'm taking baby steps here and exploring this one by one.
Boyfriend's intake
I'm not sure if I can save on my boyfriend's coffee intake seeing that he drinks twice as many cups and he doesn't love the iced coffee. Which is fine, I will just do my part and if needed keep ordering (much less than before, haha) Completa for him only. I'm very pleased that my ingredients are now to be found in the supermarket rather than depending on a supermarket online focussed on expats because I have had times where they ran out of Completa and that really wasn't funny if you always drink it in your coffee. At least I now found a version that has supermarket ingredients only.
Almond milk
Since I'm speaking to coffee people in the community, does anyone have experience making their own almond milk? I've grown a love for natural almonds (not fried) in the past months and I wonder if it could be worth making my own milk and if it would be worth the effort. To cut out some unhealthy additives in regular milk I think it could be worth a try. Any tips on that topic, please leave a comment below.
I hope you have a coffee-licious day! <3
All pictures above are mine...
Posted Using InLeo Alpha
As long as you enjoy it that's what counts! I try to limit mine too, but your' boyfriend likes his coffee more than you!
!PIMP
You must be killin' it out here!
@thebighigg just slapped you with 5.000 PIMP, @thisismylife.
You earned 5.000 PIMP for the strong hand.
They're getting a workout and slapped 2/2 possible people today.
Read about some PIMP Shit or Look for the PIMP District
I don't think it's that 100% though, he has a harder time to cut bad habits than I do. When I decide I'm done, I'm done and I just stop or change it while he is a creature of habit thinking he needs the coffee constantly while he really just has the habit to grab it that many times (like with cigarettes when we still smoked way back lol)...
It's ok though, he has to do what he feels is best for him, it's very possible I go back to drinking it more in winter when I'm cold but for now this works fabulous :)
Good day, really off to bed now :)
I hope it's been a good day!
!PIMP
You must be killin' it out here!
@thebighigg just slapped you with 1.000 PIMP, @thisismylife.
You earned 1.000 PIMP for the strong hand.
They're getting a workout and slapped 1/2 possible people today.
Read about some PIMP Shit or Look for the PIMP District
You received an upvote of 100% from Precious the Silver Mermaid!
Please remember to contribute great content to the #SilverGoldStackers tag to create another Precious Gem.
I read it and I learn, it is truly siugeneris to prepare a coffee and to be able to readjust its consumption and its expenses for personal health and pocket.
I only have the experience of drinking coffee with milk, the other forms are a mystery even though I prepare it for other people's consumption, it doesn't seem logical but that's how it is...
But it seems to me an excellent attitude on your part to rethink how it is healthier to maintain your consumption, in spite of the fact that your boyfriend does not think the same.
An interesting post that you present to us today. In truth, many times we are forced to repress certain pleasures that do not do much good for the body, but there is always a way to replace that taste with something similar, in the case of of milk, natural milk is not the same as lactose-free milk, but it is something that we can use so as not to deprive ourselves of the taste of milk.
Regarding almond milk in our community, I have seen a user who prepares almond milk and she says that it is the best. I hope she sees your post and can advise you on that issue.☕
Thanks for sharing.
Good Thursday.
As long as you enjoy the coffee and save is the best of all. I think it makes it fun, and exciting. :3