Friday, April 04, 2008

How much do you pay for your vendor served coffee?

If there is one thing I'll spend money on, it's good coffee. Or at least, perceived good coffee. Lately I've found that I go to Caribou, Starbucks or my favorite Dunn Bros. four times a week. Three of those times I'll get a small half-café coffee around $1.60. That's $5 a week. The fourth visit is usually on a weekend, where I'll break down and get a latte. With a shot of vanilla, they get me for about $3.50. So for the week I spend around $8.50 for good coffee.

Over the course of the year I'll spend just over $400 at these places. Is it worth it? I guess answering that question depends on how much you value vendor served coffee. I apparently value coffee enough to spend a small fortune on it. How about you? Would you spend $400 for vendor served coffee? Would you, or do you, spend more?

6 comments:

bosshart said...

Mac, great topic. I think about coffee so much that I may start a blog and just post my thoughts on coffee, Ryan's Coffee Thoughts.

I would say I spend $700/year on coffee. The cost is so significant that I've tried to quit. I tried switching to tea, I tried drinking the garbage in the cafeteria, I tried bringing coffee from home, but alas, I always end up back at the Caribou Coffee.

Caribou makes me mad, where do they get off saying that fireside or caribou blend is a "dark roast", its a medium roast, and a crappy one. I've told them this and even on a one man boycott - no changes.

This week, in light of my recent promotion, I've decided to consider coffee an investment in my future. The increased productivity coffee helps me attain offsets the large cost. On the other hand, all that caffeine makes me irritable, impatient, and prone to starting arguments with my woman.

I'm drinking a delicious Caribou dark roast right now.

Mac Noland said...

Ryan, I could not agree with you more. During my ten year career, I've been given basically two promotions. I dedicate both of them to coffee.

I used to be a morning and afternoon drinker. But after a number of heart flutters, I dropped down to just a morning drinker (and even half-café now). Though I have been known to have a latte in the afternoon during a weekend.

bosshart said...

That is hilarious. I went to the doctor a few years ago because of heart flutters. They made me walk around for a month with a bunch of diodes stuck to my chest wired into a pager looking thing on my belt. After all that, they told me I had premature ventricular contractions, it was normal, and that coffee makes it worse.

Scooter said...

Heart flutters from coffee? That's just your body telling you it's time for more.

I bring coffee from home every other week (I couldn't do it every week, so I try to swap out with a friend), but I still find myself at Caribou quite often. I'm very thankful they instituted the $1.00 off Friday afternoon discount.

Almost worse than Caribou for me is the Ring Mountain they put in near my house - now when Eryn wants ice cream, and I can't bring myself to eat sweets, I'll have a cup of coffee instead while she has ice cream.

David said...

How about you? Would you spend $400 for vendor served coffee? Would you, or do you, spend more?

I personally cannot taste the difference between "vendor served" coffee and the crap they serve for free in the cafe.

So.....no, I would not pay $1.00 for vendor served coffee.

But, I'd guess you already knew that.

Mac Noland said...

David, I'm glad we have this documented. Being you're an offspring of JN, I'm thinking your taste will change.