How To Save $1,000+ a Year on Coffee

Let’s talk about our favorite topic: COFFEE! I’ve been wanting to write this post for so long, and I’m happy to report: that it’s time! Back in 2018 when we launched our coffee line I had dreams to create what has now come to life: a coffee experience. The Surviving Motherhood Coffee brand now has 20+ roasts and flavors and continues to grow! So let’s talk about how we can get you to save a boatload of cash on coffee…

This post is going to include a bit of math, but it’s also going to be loaded with tips for brewing the BEST cup of coffee, so stick with us even if you’re already a Surviving Motherhood Coffee drinker!

I think we can all agree that the cost of just about everything is up in price these days, so when I make the estimation that it costs on average $5 for a drive-thru brew at one of those big-name coffee shops I think that’s fairly accurate.

Now, let’s say you’re purchasing 300 coffees a year at $5 a pop then you’re currently spending $1,500 a year on coffee!

This is where we get to the brewing math…

The golden rule for brewing the best cup of coffee (aka, a great place to start when learning your own flavor preferences) is to brew at a 1:15 ratio, 1g of coffee to 15mL of water. I know you’re probably thinking, this is way too technical, but bear with me – it gets easier!

Our community of moms LOVE to use the Ninja Coffee Bar because of its wide variety of capabilities, however, there are a few other methods that work great depending on your preferences. For the sake of this post (and because it’s the most popular), we’re going to talk about brewing with the Ninja. This coffee system brews in 6, 8, 10, and 12-ounce sizes both hot, and over ice.

If we’re using the measurements I shared, that means we’d use approximately 10 ounces of water for 3 scoops (tablespoons) and 12 ounces of water for 4 scoops. (Fun fact: our coffee scoop includes a tablespoon and a teaspoon for easy measuring of both coffee and tea, and is included in each new coffee club box!)

Now, I polled our community of moms for their brewing methods and on average they use 3 scoops of coffee when they brew – regardless of cup size, so just like we averaged the $5 cup of coffee earlier, we’re averaging scoop size here to make things easy!

One bag of Surviving Motherhood Coffee includes approximately 56 rounded scoops of coffee, and if we’re using 3 scoops per cup that’s 18.8 cups of coffee per bag! At $13.99 a bag that leaves you with a cup of coffee costs approximately $0.75 cents! For coffee club members who get access to exclusive flavors (and so much more) that leaves them paying approximately $0.79 cents per cup. If we were to increase it to four scoops per cup, it still only costs about $1 a cup for you to brew that coffee at home!

All of this to say, you can buy a brand new coffee maker, stock your coffee bar with flavored syrups, and still save yourself over $1,000 a year by brewing those 300 cups of coffee at home!

If you’re new to brewing coffee at home, or maybe you’ve tried previously and not had the best luck – we are here to help! The coffee you’re using is the single most important step in brewing at home. You simply won’t be able to recreate the coffee shop taste with crappy coffee or even (sorry guys) k-cups.

A side note about k-cups: I used to use them way back in the day, too! I have nothing personal against them but what I will share is that every single customer that has come forward as previously using a refillable k-cup and has since ditched the k-cup brewer and switched to a traditional brewing method has said in one way or another, “I had NO IDEA how much better my coffee would taste!” So please take that tidbit of info and consider trying a different brew method if you’re serious about homebrewing!

Back to the quality of your coffee, to say I’m biased is a true fact. I am officially a coffee snob in no uncertain terms. The roaster we partnered with to bring our brand to life has taught me so much over the years, and not only that but seeing their roasting business continue to grow as we submit bigger and bigger orders has been nothing short of amazing! Each and every Friday I head down and pick up our weekly order, have a coffee with our roaster, and chat about what’s on the horizon for both of us – it’s really so great!

While I am one hundred percent confident in saying, our coffee is hands down the best coffee you’re going to get – I realize that it won’t always be possible for everyone to have it on hand all the time. So if for some reason you can’t get our coffee, choose something that’s locally roasted – do NOT choose a big name brand that’s was roasted, sat on a warehouse shelf, on a semi-truck, on another warehouse shelf before it was finally loaded onto a grocery store shelf. The time between start and finish for that process can be months or more, and this includes bags of those big-name chains that you’re trying to recreate. I promise you a fresh, locally roasted coffee is going to make a world of difference!

The next thing to consider when switching to brewing your own beans at home is your brew method.

Are you an iced coffee drinker? Does someone else in your house prefer hot coffee? What’s your budget here? Here are a few machines and methods our community loves:

• Ninja Coffee Bar: This is the champion for busy moms! It brews from an 8oz mug to a full carafe, hot, over ice, includes a frother and this one even includes a basket which comes in so handy for brewing our loose leaf teas. Time and again it proves worthy of every penny!
• Toddy Cold Brew System: Typically we have these in stock, but we’re out at the moment so you can find them here! If you’re a cold brew or iced coffee only kinda girl, this one is for you. It’s the simplest method for cold brewing and the same exact brand and method that those big-name chains use (just on a smaller scale for household use). Again, this method is tried and true and works every single time. One 12oz bag of our coffee + 7 cups of water + 12-24 hours of brew time = a large batch of cold brew concentrate that will last you days!
• Chemex Pour-Over Coffeemaker: This is great for our hot coffee drinkers. Just like the Toddy it’s simple and easy to use and delivers a consistently great cup of coffee every time.

Once you’ve decided on a brewer the real fun begins!

The possibilities for creating your own concoctions or recreating your favorite drive-thru brews are endless. If you’re someone who likes sweet coffees, chances are you’ll love our flavored roasts (or even our coffee club!) and you’ll want to stock up on some flavored syrups – Torani is one of our favorite brands around here but there are TONS to try! Another thing you’ll want to grab is milk and/or creamers, each month when we announce the coffee club flavor of the month we also share a list of creamers that we paired with that month’s flavor – it’s so fun to see how a splash of creamer can transform your cup.

Fun Fact: if you’re a flavored coffee drinker, you really want to mix a splash of *something* into your cup vs. drinking it black. This is because the flavor molecules will “stick” to that milk or creamer and give you an even more enhanced flavor profile!

Some of our favorite creamer brands:

• Chobani: they make both dairy and non-dairy creamers that include sweet cream, caramel, hazelnut, vanilla, and seasonal flavors like cookies and cream, mint cookie, sizzlin brown sugar (and more!) their website is a great resource for seeing what’s new and where to find it!
• Califia Farms: they make both almond and coconut-based non-dairy creamers that include cookie butter and cinnamon roll (both absolutely drool-worthy)!
• Coffee Mate: they have both a traditional line and a natural bliss line which includes fewer ingredients.
• International Delight: they make every flavor under the sun! This is popular with quite a few moms in our community, however not one I personally reach for often. Their variety of flavors is WILD!

There are SO many more great brands out there, it really just depends on the flavor and ingredient aspects that are important to you!

If you’re feeling the confidence growing, we’re just as excited as you are!

Some great news to end on: all of our Surviving Motherhood Coffee samples ship FREE! Our sample bags are 3 ounces each and include approximately 14 rounded scoops (or 3-5 cups of coffee depending on your preferences) for just $5.99!

Samples are a great way to try different roasts and flavors, and also how you can mix them up! Some of our personal favorite homebrews are actually multiple coffees mixed together, take a look at the first edition of our Team MLMH secret menu for ideas on that! And once you get yourself rolling, we would absolutely love to have you join us in the Coffee Club!

Our Founder’s Favorite (hey that’s me!) Coffee Club is one that releases a brand new and club exclusive flavor each and every month – and we deliver it straight to your door! Members can stock up, get free shipping on 4+ bags of coffee every day, get access to an exclusive members-only shop and so much more! If you’ve made it this far, here’s a spoiler alert: we’re about to give them access to two of their favorite flavors from last year for the whole entire summer! The best part about the coffee club may very well be trying new flavors that you wouldn’t normally choose, but we’ll let you be the judge of that!

Thank you for taking the time to read through this post, I really cannot express how grateful I am for this amazing community, or for the love and attention our coffee has gotten over the years. My hope is to watch it continue to blossom and find its way to every mom’s kitchen!

Cheers, friends!