5 affordable products that save me thousands of dollars on coffee a year

• I haven't bought coffee in years, not because I stopped drinking it but because I started making my own.
• I've saved thousands on coffee over the years with these five items — a cold brew maker, a traditional coffee machine, reusable filters, a stovetop espresso maker, and a milk frother.
• They're all super easy to use, well-reviewed on Amazon, and the results are probably better than what you'd get at your usual coffee spot.

When it comes to coffee, I'm a purist. I'm brand agnostic and will always take my cup black without any sugar or milk. That's why I hate paying for such an easy order knowing that I can brew my own (and usually better) at home. In fact, excluding business meetings or vacation where I can't BYO, I don't think I've bought coffee in a few years.

Here's how I save thousands of dollars on coffee by making my own.

Takeya cold brew maker

Cold brew is basically a coffee concentrate made by steeping beans in cold water for at least 12 hours. Because it takes a lot of time and beans to develop, it also costs more than regular coffee. But for the price of three cups at your usual coffee joint, you can get this cult-favorite Takeya cold brew carafe and make your own forever.  

It's made of incredibly durable, shatter-proof, and BPA-free Tritan plastic with a fine mesh filter that screws into the airtight lid. There is a 1-quart and 2-quart size; I have the 1-quart carafe and it fits perfectly in the refrigerator door. To use, just dump coarsely ground coffee into the filter (it says 14-16 tablespoons but I just fill up most of the filter), add cold water, and let it sit for up to 36 hours in the refrigerator. Whenever you're ready to take it out, you'll have a coffee concentrate that's stronger than normal coffee and less acidic too. Cut it with water, ice cubes, or milk, and live your best caffeinated life.

Keurig machine

When I'm not in the mood for cold brew, I'll make a cup of basic hot coffee. My fiancé surprised me with a Keurig machine a few years ago and it's honestly one of the best gifts ever.

We have the older K-Classic that takes up a lot counter space, but it has a large 6-cup water reservoir so we can brew several cups before needing to refill. The newer ones are much more compact but also have a much smaller reservoir.

Using the machine is the same no matter which style you have. Fill the reservoir with water, add in the coffee pod of your choice, and brew one of three available sizes. You can also use it for hot water if you don't add in a pod. At first, we made coffee with the single-use K-cup pods because they came with the machine as part of a combo deal, but once we realized how bad they were for the environment, we bought reusable filters that fit our machine along with our own beans. In fact, our current coffee of choice is an 1820 medium roast that we brought home from Costa Rica that you can actually get from Amazon.

Reusable K-cup filters

Speaking of reusable filters, these are the ones that I've been using for years. They fit all Keurig-brand machines so there aren't any guessing games when it comes to compatibility and they're easy to use and clean. Just pour your ground beans up to one of two fill lines in the filter, lock it back into the plastic canister, and brew. Once you're done, just rinse the grounds out of the filter. (Side beauty hack: Sometimes I'll use the grounds as a quick hand scrub!)

Bialetti Moka Express

For a real espresso experience, you'd need a fancy machine that can cost upwards of $300. It ain't cheap, but for a purist like me who prefers cold brew over lattes anyway, it's also not worth my money. Instead, if I'm in the mood for a fancy barista-worthy espresso, I'll make a cup with the humble Bialetti Moka Express.

We've reviewed the stovetop espresso make before, but we can't sing its praises enough. It's inexpensive, comes in a variety of colors to suit your kitchen's vibe, and most importantly, it makes a really strong espresso without any bells and whistles. One caveat is that it's a stovetop espresso maker so you might have to monitor the pot the first few times you're using it to make sure that you don't burn the beans, but at least it'll make feel like a barista since you're not just pressing another button.

Epica Automatic Electric Milk Frother and Heater Carafe

This sleek little carafe heats and froths up milk for lattes and cappuccinos, takes up minimal counter space, and is super quiet. Oh, and it has a 4-star rating on Amazon with more than 3,000 reviews and costs only $33.

To use, just pour milk into one of two fill lines for heating or frothing, pop the lid on, and then press the appropriate button. I found out the hard way that if you're just heating milk, you'll have to take out the removable steel whisk inside, otherwise the machine will froth and the milk will leak all over your counter. Even though I don't use this frother more than twice a week, I'll leave it out on my kitchen counter because it's so compact; it's actually more annoying for me to constantly move it around.

Check out our other great coffee gear buying guides

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