Cheaper coffee – how to enjoy gourmet specialty coffee at reasonable prices.

If you’re on a tight budget and need to find a cheaper coffee, but still want to make a decent brew, there are a few things you can do.

And no, in spite of the photo above, I'm not suggesting you get inexpensive cans of coffee from the supermarket. These coffees were reasonable in the past, but the quality has gone down markedly over the last few years.

Fortunately, there are ways to pay less for genuine gourmet coffee without compromising too much on quality.

Some tips to help you keep the cost of coffee down...

1. Look for coffee blends. 

They will always be cheaper than single origin beans.

2. Don't insist on 100% Arabica coffee. 

Blends of 100% Arabica beans will always be more expensive than those which include Robusta beans. In your search for cheaper coffee, watch for blends that are not marked or promoted as 100% Arabica.

3. Look for specials on coffee.

Browse the online coffee stores. Watch for specials these web sites might be offering. Also look for deals on free shipping. Otherwise you could lose the savings you make on the coffee by paying too much in shipping fees.

4. Buy wholesale coffee.

If you have the money for it, you can often save in the long run by buying wholesale. Some web sites will give you wholesale prices on quantities as low at 1lb and up.

You can buy in bulk at stores like Costco as well.

The more you buy, the bigger the price break.

5. You can save money by using an inexpensive coffee maker.

You don’t even need to invest in an automatic drip brewer. You can make just as good coffee with a simple manual drip filter cone. It’s a plastic or glass cone you place over a carafe or mug. You place a filter in the cone, add the ground coffee and then pour hot water from the kettle over the grinds.

Additionally, if you pour the hot water evenly and stir the grinds and water a little, you’ll be getting the most possible coffee from the beans you use. Some drip brewers are quite wasteful, as they don’t cover all the grinds evenly with hot water.

6. Don't use single serve coffee makers. 

You can always make cheaper coffee by buying tins or bags of loose coffee. Buying your coffee in K-Cups, for example, is two or three times more expensive than buying a regular bag of quality coffee beans.

These are just a few of the ways you can enjoy cheaper coffee. Keep watching for special offers...and if you’re shopping online, look out for free shipping.

And keep in mind that even a good blend of gourmet coffee is already very inexpensive when you make it yourself. In fact, good coffee costs less than bottled water right now.

About the author: Nick Usborne, aka Coffee Detective, is a writer and long-time coffee enthusiast. Read more…

Other pages on the site you might find interesting:

How much does a cup of coffee cost when I brew it at home?

How to save on the price of K-cup Coffee.

Which is the best inexpensive coffee?