Home-made Cafe Latte During Parental Leave. About 109 yen per 300ml cup - I wanted to balance savings and great taste -

Every morning, I used to go to a cafe.

It was a habit from when I worked in sales. I would enter the shop at 7:00 AM, right when it opened. With a coffee in hand, I would prepare for the day. I would also stop by between business meetings. Even on my days off, I would spend a few hours working at the nearest Starbucks. I quite liked that time.

I always ordered a Grande cafe latte. It was about 540 yen. And one cup wasn't enough, so I usually had two. That's a little over 1,000 yen a day. I did that almost every day. Calculating it out, I was spending about 30,000 yen a month.

At the time, that was normal. I didn't even think about it.

The turning point was parental leave.

The time I spent at home increased all at once. My income changed, too. I had to review my household budget. Also, there were some circumstances where I wanted to be at home for my child.

When my lifestyle changed, the daily cafe cost suddenly started to feel heavy. 1,000 yen a day. 30,000 yen a month. The numbers I had ignored until now turned into a 'waste' for the first time.

But I had no intention of giving up coffee. If I took away my morning cup, I probably wouldn't be able to keep going. So, instead of 'quitting,' I decided to switch to 'making it at home.'

It wasn't in its current form from the beginning.

For a while, I used Tully's espresso base. It wasn't strangely sweet, and I liked the taste. But one bottle was 300 yen for 10 servings. 30 yen per cup. It wasn't bad, but it was a bit expensive. Also, the plastic bottle waste generated each time was a minor stress. So, I reluctantly stopped using it.

I also tried various instant coffees. Kaldi, Nescafe, BOSS, and the 7-Eleven one. Also, the sweet powdered types made specifically for 'cafe lattes' from the start. These didn't suit my palate, and they were out after one try.

After going through a few like that, I settled on Blendy. Now, I use two types depending on my mood.

(Postscript)
From 8:00 PM on August 4th to 1:59 AM on August 11th, it's the Rakuten Shopping Marathon. This is also eligible.

I've compiled 28 other items I actually use, so please feel free to check them out if you want to increase your number of shops for the shopping marathon.

・Blendy (No. 1)
A type that brings out a strong bitterness. Just as the package says, it goes well with milk.

*Updated July 13th
It turns out that Rakuten can be a better deal depending on the point multiplier, so I've added the following note.
However, since it comes in a bulk pack of 12 bags, you'll need to consider your home storage space.

・Blendy (Part 2)
It has a mild flavor, so even if you add a bit more than usual, it doesn't get too bitter and you can still enjoy the coffee taste.

The preparation is simple.

1. Put Blendy and san-onto sugar into a mug

2. Dissolve with a little hot water

3. Pour in a half-and-half mix of milk and almond milk

4. Heat in the microwave

That's it. No whisk needed. No espresso machine needed.

I use san-onto sugar. For the milk, I prefer mixing regular supermarket milk with almond milk. Amazon's subscription service had the best price for almond milk.

*Since Amazon often runs out of stock, click here if you want to check Rakuten

By the way, I just use the mug that came with a milk frother I received a while ago. The frother itself hardly ever gets used. That's how little equipment you need.

Now, for the all-important cost.

Blendy costs 1,800 yen for about 100 cups. That's 18 yen per cup. Combining the milk and almond milk, it's roughly 90 yen. The san-onto sugar is less than 1 yen, but let's call it 1 yen for simplicity.

Total: 109 yen per cup.

I still drink two cups a day. That's 218 yen a day. About 6,500 yen a month.

When I used to drink out, it was 30,000 yen a month. At home, it's 6,500 yen. Even with a rough calculation, I'm saving over 20,000 yen a month, and over 250,000 yen a year.

To be honest, I won't say the taste is exactly the same as Starbucks. It can't beat a professional cup. But it's good enough to drink every morning. If anything, I might even prefer this because I can adjust the sweetness and the amount of milk to my own liking.

Since I started making it at home,

I realized that perhaps I was paying for that "morning cafe time" rather than the cafe latte itself. A quiet space. A few hours where no one disturbs me. Maybe that was what I really wanted.

Now, it's early morning while my family is still asleep. I write notes or play the anime I wanted to watch. While munching on a banana, I have two cups of cafe latte. It's completely my own time.

The coffee has become 109 yen. As for the quiet morning, I think my life has changed for the better.

If there is anyone else who is concerned about their daily cafe expenses, please try it with just powder and milk first. You don't need any special tools. If you have a mug and a microwave, you can start from tomorrow morning.

[Our home cafe latte set]