Cut Your Coffee Shop Habit This Stoptober

We all love a coffee shop, don’t we? Manchester is fully of cute and quirky indepedant coffee shops serving up local blends and a hispter atmosphere. Even outside of town. there’s now a Starbucks and Costa (sometimes more than one!) in every single town. And, guess what? They’re always jam-packed! It seems that we can’t get enough of that coffee shop bustle and those overpriced drinks. 

 The trouble is that this coffee shop lifestyle comes at a cost. In some cases, that cost is literal, with many millennials finding these expenses eat into their funds. The high-sugar content of drinks like these can also wreak havoc on your health over time.

 Luckily, breaking this habit should be easier than you’re anticipating. The convenient, fantastic taste of coffee shops definitely has its appeals, but we’ve got some simple ways to help you replicate it at home.

Invest in your own equipment

Coffee shop drinks are only so fast because of the machines used to make them. Top-notch coffee machines forever have hot water and ground beans ready to go. It’s as easy as pressing a button, and you’re paying up to £5 for the privilege. Instead, why not invest in your own equipment? The coffee machines in your price range might not be up to Costa standards, but they’ll come pretty darn close. They’ll certainly help you to pour coffee in half the time on cold, dark mornings. Admittedly, the upfront cost here will be a little more than you usually spend on a latte, but it’s worth it! Considering that hot drinks are an ongoing expense, you should even find that your coffee equipment pays for itself in as little as a few months.

Take a lesson from baristas

Baristas know how to make a damn good coffee, and it’s primarily because they know their stuff. On-job training involves understanding different beans and harvesting processes to make the most of flavours. As such, making equally tasty coffee at home is sometimes as easy as taking the time to find out how coffee is made and how that impacts taste. Once you have a little insider knowledge, you’ll be able to blend the right beans, and always buy at the correct time of year. Thus, your coffee game is guaranteed to be as strong as any professional coffee-maker. Even better, you can use this knowledge to make drinks that taste just as good with half the sugar!

Get that coffee-shop vibe

Sometimes, we keep heading back to coffee shops for little more than the vibe. There’s something inspiring about sipping coffee in a bustling space filled with students and professionals. Sitting alone at the kitchen table doesn’t quite have that same morning impact. Luckily, you can pretty much recreate even the coffee-shop vibe. There are now apps that play that much-loved coffee-shop chatter to set you off on the right footing. Or, you could invite your most inspirational friends over for a quick morning coffee before you head off. Surely that’s a better way to start the day than sitting in a room filled with strangers and paying a fortune for the privilege?