No – this is not about mania caused by coffee. You spotted some words and something jumped into your conscious mind, driven by the Labyrinth of your unconscious! This post is about the cost of coffee. In a previous post I am so cheap, I made some calculations based on price of a cup at £1.55 and cost of a bag of ground coffee at £5. In this post I adjust the figures.
Updated assumptions
- price per cup shop = £2.50
- cost of coffee packet = £3.50
- cost of cafetiere = £10
- cups from quarter packet = 8
- cups per week = 8
- weeks in 6 months = 26 (counting working days only).
- number of cups of cafetiere coffee over 6/12 = 26*8 = 208.
- cost of 208 cups over 6/12 at the shop: 208*2.50 = £520.
- The total cost of ground coffee over 6 months is £22.75.
Some more calculation
For those who need it unpacked some more –
- Total cups over 6 months: At 8 cups of coffee per week, over 26 weeks (6 months), this totals to 208 cups (8 cups/week * 26 weeks).
- Cups per packet: From my initial estimation, 1/4 of the packet makes 8 cups of coffee. Therefore, a full packet makes 32 cups (8 cups * 4).
- Packets needed for 6 months: To find out how many packets of coffee I need for 6 months, I divide the total number of cups by the number of cups made from one packet:
- Hence: Packets needed = 208 cups / 32 cups per packet = 6.5 packets.
Since I cannot buy half a packet, I consider this calculation on a per-cup basis to be more accurate.
- Cost per packet: Each packet costs £3.50.
- Total cost for ground coffee: The total cost is calculated by multiplying the number of packets by the cost per packet: Total cost = 6.5 packets * £3.50/packet = £22.75.
What did I miss?
Oh yes – I like some milk and sugar in my coffee. Tough if you don’t! It is my calculation!
Milk cost calculation:
- Milk usage: 30 ml per cup.
- Total milk usage over 6 months: As I consume 8 cups of coffee per week for 26 weeks, the total cups amount to 208 cups (8 cups/week * 26 weeks).
- Total milk volume: 208 cups * 30 ml/cup = 6240 ml or 6.24 litres.
- Cost of milk: £1 per litre.
Sugar cost calculation:
- Sugar usage: 2 teaspoons per cup. Assuming 1 teaspoon of sugar weighs approximately 4 grams, this equals 8 grams of sugar per cup.
- Total sugar usage over 6 months: 208 cups * 8 grams/cup = 1664 grams or 1.664 kg.
- Cost of sugar: £1.20 per 500 grams.
Now, let’s calculate the total cost of milk and sugar over 6 months.
The estimated costs over 6 months are as follows:
- Milk: £6.24
- Sugar: Approximately £3.99
Therefore, the total estimated cost for both milk and sugar over 6 months is approximately £10.23. This additional cost, when factored into my overall coffee expenses, still supports the economic advantage of brewing my own coffee compared to purchasing from a high street shop.
Costs and savings
My actual savings, after accounting for both the cost of ground coffee (£22.75) and the cafetière (£10), compared to what I would have spent on coffee at a high street shop, amounts to £487.25 over 6 months. This figure is derived by comparing the total would-be cost of purchasing coffee at the shop (£520) against the combined cost of ground coffee and equipment used to brew it.
After subtracting the cost of milk and sugar over 6 months, my cost saving is approximately £477.02. This reflects my overall savings when comparing the cost of brewing my own coffee at work to purchasing it from a high street shop, including the expenses for coffee, equipment, milk, and sugar. This reflects my overall savings when comparing the cost of brewing my own coffee at work to purchasing it from a high street shop, including the expenses for coffee, equipment, milk, and sugar.
Somebody is going to argue that I haven’t included cost of electricity to boil water. Why should I boil my water at home when I can get it for free at work? Chryssst! Will logic dictate? Nope – stupidity will!