As coffee prices soar, is it time to invest in an at-home machine?

Friday, 16 September 2022

Is it cheaper to make a coffee at home?

The cost of a barista-made coffee is rising at the fastest rate in over a decade.

A standard flat white now costs at least $5.50, and this might have some thinking: is it worth investing in a coffee machine, so I can make my own at home?

We’ve run the numbers to find out how much you save per coffee if you make it yourself, and how quickly a coffee machine pays for itself.

To do this analysis we’ve looked at two options - a full manual machine from Breville, and a cheaper Nespresso option which still allows the user to make a milky coffee.

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The Breville retails for $1099.99, and the Nespresso option for $379.99.

That is the set-up cost, but then you have to buy the beans and the milk, and prices are going up on these too.

Assuming one medium coffee a day, you’ll be getting through a small 200-gram pack of beans every two weeks.

Let’s go local, and go for a pack of Havana Coffee beans, which will set you back $9.60 at Countdown for a small bag.

Then there’s the milk. We are going to assume you want cow’s milk. If you prefer soy you’ll be saving a bit, and if you like oat milk, you’ll be spending a little more.

A litre of milk (Anchor) will cost $3.02, and will make you about four coffees.

Per coffee, if you’re using beans, that means you’ll be spending 68 cents on coffee, and 76 cents on milk, which comes to $1.44 per coffee.

Capsules go for $9.20 for 10, which means each coffee will set you back 92 cents in coffee, and with 76 cents going on milk, that’s $1.68 per coffee.

Stats NZ data shows the average price of coffees increased 5.3% in the year to July.

So depending on your choice, you’re saving between $4.06 and $3.82 per coffee, and that’s if you’re buying small bottles of milk and small quantities of beans or capsules.

If you’re willing to buy in bulk, the savings per coffee increases.

Even supposing these savings, if you’re having one coffee a day, in a standard month you’re saving just over $121 if you use beans and just over $114 if you’re using pods.

So how quickly do the machines pay for itself?

For the high-end Breville machine, it will pay itself off in roughly three-quarters of a year.

For the cheaper Nespresso option with milk-frothing ability, the machine pays for itself in just over three months.

These figures are assuming the drinker indulges in one takeout coffee a day.

If you have two, the machines pay themselves off twice as quickly – provided you have the discipline to make all your coffees at home.

There are also cheaper brands of coffee and milk you could buy, which would bring the cost-per-coffee down.