

The finished product is an at-home Frappucino that's so good, you'll never run to Starbucks again. Then, when it's time to make your iced coffee, add these cubes to your cold coffee or blend them in with your preferred milk and sweeteners. All you have to do is pour some of your room temperature coffee into an ice cube tray. If you're looking to save money and time, Doughty recommends icing your coffee with coffee ice cubes. Ren Doughty, the outreach and customer support coordinator at Batdorf & Bronson Roasters, told Salon that it's best to brew your coffee a little stronger than you typically would if you were going to drink it out of the pot and let it come to room temperature before stashing it in the refrigerator in an airtight container. The tricky part about making iced coffee, however, is figuring out how much ice to add to your drink without making it too watery. Summer is just around the corner, meaning it's time to enjoy your favorite iced coffee beverages. There's also Café Altura's Instant Organic Coffee, which is available for about $22 for two 3.53-ounce jars, or about 18 cents per serving. Other great options include Waka's Coffee Quality Instant Coffee, which is priced at $30 for 24 packets, or $1.25 per serving. Mount Hagen's Organic Fair Trade Instant Coffee is priced at about $9 for 25 packets, or 36 cents per serving, although, personally, I think the brand's 3.53-ounce jar of coffee is more bang for your buck. It's smooth and velvety and has a more robust flavor the longer you let your coffee sit. Unlike your Folgers or Nescafe, Mount Hagen's Instant Coffee tastes quite similar to a cafe-style espresso. Wirecutter suggested Mount Hagen's Organic Fair Trade Instant Coffee, which is also my personal favorite brand of instant coffee. To make instant coffee, all you need is your preferred coffee and water (hot or cold)! They're also a great cheap option for making homemade coffee, especially if you don't want to spend extra moolah on a coffee maker. But not all instant coffee brands are atrocious when it comes to taste.

Instant coffee tends to get a bad rap for tasting too acidic or bitter. There's user control of the hot plate's holding temperature and a small-batch option. Similar to the Ninja maker, the Cuisinart maker is incredibly customizable. The coffee maker has an adjustable hot plate and a self-clean function. Wirecutter also recommended Cuisinart's DCC-1200, if you're looking to splurge a little. On Amazon, the coffee maker is available for $80. The Ninja coffee maker is also easy-to-use and customizable - there's a scoop, a removable water reservoir and dials for brewing a richer or a smaller batch. "It was the only model we tried that reliably brewed at a hot enough temperature to extract good flavor from the beans and make a pot that was pleasingly hot to drink." "The Ninja CE251 consistently brewed the best-tasting coffee among the machines we tested, whether we used pre-ground or freshly ground beans," Wirecutter wrote. Per the New York Times' Wirecutter, the best cheap coffee maker that reliably brews hot, strong coffee is Ninja's 12-Cup Programmable Coffee Maker CE251. Luckily, good quality doesn't equate to expensive - there's plenty of makers that are affordable and get the job done. If you want good quality coffee at home, you have to invest in a good quality coffee maker. To help cut down your coffee budget, we consulted the trusty folks on Reddit along with online experts, who shared their tips for making cafe quality drinks at home. Here at Salon Food, we're always on the lookout for the best ways to save money while still enjoying all our favorite foods and beverages. Want more great food writing and recipes? Subscribe to Salon Food's newsletter, The Bite. Don't fret though, making coffee on your own doesn't have to be a daunting or arduous task! The secret is to choose an efficient coffee maker and good quality coffee supplies, whether that's instant coffee, ground coffee or whole coffee beans. The easiest way to save money on coffee is to make it at home. Pass the oat milk! It's time that coffee shops stop charging extra for non-dairy milk
