Posted Sat Nov 17, 2012, 8:03am Subject: Re: Homemade Lattes vs. Cafe Lattes ~~ Which cost more?
shadowsnuzzy Said:
You know I thought about that but when I looked up the specs for the Silvia I figured they took that into consideration. Do you know if this is confirmed anywhere? if so that would reduce my estimated price by about 70-80 cents!
The specs have to show the maximum power consumption (heater plus pump) so you can rate the fuses, cords and outlet to the machine. My European Gaggia Classic is rated at 1400W, (which is pretty marginal on a 110V 15A supply shared with some lights and the grinder, particularly when running through a 2kW 110V-230V step-up transformer), but was averaging about 150W once warmed up and idling (after say 6 minutes at 1200W), and maybe 250W during each shot.
The cost of leaving my larger HX machine on all day is rarely above 50 cents or so, including warm-up in the morning (we're paying 8.3 cents/kWHr here in the Boston suburbs, so your 33 cents seems scary high). And that heat goes into the kitchen and dining room, so there's a small saving on gas there. ;)
here's some actual measurements on a beast of a machine with an 8 litre boiler, running up a cost of 6.6 kWhrs/40 cents a day.
CMIN Senior Member Joined: 14 Jun 2012 Posts: 564 Location: South FL Expertise: I like coffee
Espresso: Crossland CC1 Grinder: Baratza Preciso
Posted Sat Nov 17, 2012, 8:42am Subject: Re: Homemade Lattes vs. Cafe Lattes ~~ Which cost more?
Some of the Whole Foods do roast themselves, but not many, we have 1 that does, and the others around us/other cities don't. But generally they do carry beans from other known roasters with roasted on dates. I know down here you can always find Counter Culture, but it's usually 2-4 weeks out from roast. You have to time it right, or get to know the buyer at the store to see if they'll let you know when fresh orders have come in. If you don't want to deal with shipping, you can always find a good shop in your area that uses fresh roasted beans from known companies and their volume let's them have fresh orders in constantly, can just walk in and buy what they use. I just ship though, like there's a place in Miami I get 2 lbs fresh for $20 total inc shipping, and a few others around that are like 12-13 bucks for a lb if I walk in, but my truck would use way more gas driving there and back lol, so I just ship lol, ends up being cheaper haha
JasonBrandtLewis Senior Member Joined: 9 Dec 2005 Posts: 6,100 Location: Berkeley, CA Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Elektra T1 - La Valentina -... Grinder: Mahlkönig K30 Vario -... Vac Pot: Yama 5-cup Drip: CCD, Chemex Roaster: No, no, not another...
Posted Sat Nov 17, 2012, 11:57am Subject: Re: Homemade Lattes vs. Cafe Lattes ~~ Which cost more?
shadowsnuzzy Said:
This raises the question I sought to answer: Is it worth spending the time, capital, labor, and kitchen space to save approximately 50 cents a day? Does owning an espresso machine really save that much money? Thoughts?
To begin with, I am of the firm belief that your calculations are way off (especially the electrical!) -- or, at the very least, not universally applicable.
One example: you cite "around 20 min(utes) to make a latte from scratch including cleanup." OK, I can make at least 3-4 drinks in that same time frame. Of course, I have an HX machine, but even when I had an SBDU machine, it never took me 20 minutes for one single drink -- unless I counted the warm-up time for a cold start.
You cite that your coffee costs $17 for 12 ounces (340 grams) from Seattle (presumably this includes delivery costs), and that equals $1/drink. OK, from Red Bird in Bozeman, Montana, my coffee costs a maximum of $14 for 16 ounces (454 grams), including delivery. Even if I "upped" my dosage to 20 grams including waste, my coffee cost would be 61.667˘ per drink (but in reality, less -- closer to 50-55˘ per drink). (And if I purchased, as many here do, the 5-pound bag, it includes shipping -- $51.90/5 lbs. = $10.38/lb. delivered = 45.7˘ per 20 grams.)
And so on and so on and so on . . .
But MOST importantly, this is NEVER (nor has it ever been) about saving money! Sure, most people look into this "hobby" as a way of stemming the flow of cash one pays out to ____________ Café for their morning latte. ($3.50 x 350 days/year = $1,225, not including tips.) But in reality, it is always -- first and foremost -- about quality in the cup, with the secondary benefit of convenience. What would you prefer: waking up in the morning, and making yourself a great latte? or waking up in the morning, putting on a bathrobe, driving to ____________ Café, ordering, paying for, and drinking a mediocre-to-good latte in the car as you drive back home to shower and dress?
If you insist it's all about saving $$$, you're in it for all the wrong reasons.
Intrepid510 Senior Member Joined: 30 Dec 2010 Posts: 314 Location: California Expertise: I love coffee
Posted Sat Nov 17, 2012, 4:14pm Subject: Re: Homemade Lattes vs. Cafe Lattes ~~ Which cost more?
shadowsnuzzy Said:
Thank you for your reply. Regarding the coffee at whole foods, do they sell fresh coffee with roast dates? I've become obsessive about this after researching more about my Silvia.
Yeah when I lived in that area a little over a year ago they had a good range of coffee from a variety of places in the bay area, like Ritual, Four Barrel, Equator etc. Even the in store roasted Allegro coffee isn't half bad and they all have roast dates so no worries there. My only real advice is stay away from Philz coffee, disgusting over roasted garbage.
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