Saving Money: Homemade Iced Coffee

I might be more obsessed with iced coffee than I thought, given this topic holds First Real Post status. Thanks to the inability to sleep soundly through the night ( I'm blaming 4 infants over the last seven years), I have become hooked on coffee, iced coffee to be exact.

Although I adore a certain coffee company that totes a green logo, I am not in love with their prices. And when I realized I knew Mary, the lady in the drive-thru wearing a green apron, a little too well, I decided to stop frequenting the Four Bucks a pop establishment.



I tried a copycat recipe for the Starbucks bottled frappuccino.  After some trial and error, this version was a winner:



1/2 cup fresh espresso
2 1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. cocoa

Mix hot espresso with sugar and cocoa.  Chill espresso mixture in fridge.  Once completely cooled, add the milk.  (If you don't have an espresso machine run 1 cup of water through 1/3 cup coffee grounds twice.  Just be sure to run plenty of clean water through your coffee maker when you are done!)

The iced coffee was good, but it took some time to make and didn't last several days in the fridge before I thought it tasted . . . not so fresh.  But it was a cheaper substitute.

Then my mom, along with a handful of other friends,  'liked' The Pioneer Woman's perfect iced coffee on facebook.    I was curious.  Could this be better?  Was it easy to make?  Was it cheaper?

After making it once, I was hooked!  You might even say I was a bit obsessed.  It was easy to make, tasted great, and it was oh so cheap.  I start mine without ice, since it's plenty chilled straight from the fridge.  Add a little half & half and some sugar and it's good to go.

Coffee ice cubes are a great addition to the mix if it gets too warm.

And always top it off with more half & half and coffee when necessary!

I must warn you, I have a two glass limit.  Three glasses for me produced a buzz that lasted all day.  I'm okay with a bit of a caffeine high, but my kids didn't appreciate the random bouts of singing.

I know I save by making a home version of iced coffee, but generally knowing I save doesn't always do it for me.  I like details.  I like numbers.  Am I a bit of a nerd?

So here is a breakdown of the savings, based on the coffee I use most of the time -  Eight O'Clock Coffee, Original Ground.

Great taste for a decent price!  You can currently grab 48 oz from Amazon.com for $20.64, which is notably cheaper than my local grocery stores.

A gallon of iced coffee (=8 grandes at Starbucks) last me about a week.  To make a gallon you need 8 oz of grounds which cost a whole $3.44.  Add in $1.97 for a quart of half & half, (yep I'm naughty and use that much a week) plus $0.42 for the sugar (about a cup).  Grand total $5.83, or $0.73 for one grande homemade  iced coffee.

Compare that to Starbucks' $2.49 grande iced coffee.  You would pay $19.92 for 8 of them.  If you average 20 Starbucks iced coffees a month you would save $35.20 by making the iced coffee at home!  I have to admit, I still stop by to see Mary and enjoy an overpriced iced coffee now and then, but it's definitely more of a treat than a habit.

Interested in giving it a try?  Click the highlighted "iced coffee" above to hop on over to the Pioneer Woman's recipe.   It's only right to give her lots of kudos for this one!