Nothing will ever replace barista-made coffee from a neighbourhood cafe. There are the fine calibrations that go into crafting the perfect cup, and the feel-good factor of being welcomed into a space crafted for comfort and community. But with many cafes having to raise prices to remain viable, and consumers continuing to watch every dollar, more people are making more of their daily coffees at home.

Higher coffee prices and lower discretionary income have slowed revenue growth for cafes and boosted home consumption, notes Disha Kartik Jeswanth in an October report from market research company IBISWorld. She points to three main factors: coffee can easily be made at home, and many coffee drinkers purchased machines to reduce their dependence on coffee shops, especially during the pandemic. Coffee enthusiasts can also purchase beans that are higher in quality than those used in many cafes but are overall cheaper to turn into a beverage at home.

The global trends are stark. According to the US-based Coffee Intelligence site, out-of-home consumption has declined from 45 per cent in 2020 to 36 per cent in the last quarter of 2024. We may even be entering the age of coffee “pres”: just as some people preload on alcohol before heading to a club, coffee fans are pre-caffeinating before they go out for brunch.

“I’m a two coffees a day person,” says Narelle Bowen, a business analyst from Kyneton, Victoria. “I always have a home one first if heading out to brekkie – six dollars saved.”

The market for home espresso machines is still roaring, and Breville recently posted double-digit growth in coffee machine sales. But not everyone is in the market for entry-level espresso machines that start around $500, let alone “prosumer” models that cost upwards of $3000. At the same time, caffeine is still the key to unlocking the joy in many peoples’ mornings, and quality and ethics continue to drive buying decisions.

So – is it possible to quickly home-caffeinate with quality coffee during a cost-of-living crisis? And without having to buy a benchtop machine – espresso, pod or otherwise?

“We have always championed people making coffee at home that we would argue is as good as you can get in a cafe,” says Andrew Kelly from Small Batch, which sources beans directly from farmers and supplies to consumers nationally and cafes in Melbourne and Sydney. “You can use just about any device if the coffee is good to start with. It’s not about the machine, it’s about the coffee, the grind and the technique.

“You definitely don’t need to buy an espresso machine.”

Steeped coffee

Coffee in a bag has a bad reputation, but there are some decent options. Used like a tea bag, you dunk the coffee pouch for five minutes in a cup of hot water, then squeeze it out before drinking. Toby’s Estate makes two types of coffee bags, with the Balance Brew version best if you drink coffee with milk. Cost per cup: $1.40.

Meanwhile, your French press may have been relegated to the clutter cupboard, but it’s worth digging out this simple glass plunger; picking one up in a secondhand store, or buying a new Bodum Caffettiera ($60) which can make up to a litre of coffee at once. As with any method, there are ways to improve the brew. Low quality or stale coffee is not your friend. Use a coarse grind, like for filter coffee. Preheat the jug with boiling water, wet the grinds evenly, stir after 30 seconds, then let it sit for three minutes before stirring again and plunging.

Cost per cup: around 50¢, depending on your coffee.

Filter

Any time hot water is poured over ground coffee to drip through a paper or metal filter, you have a filter coffee. It could be made by a machine from Dutch company Moccamaster, a “V60” funnel or any number of other contraptions. Dion Cohen, owner of Sydney’s Single O, loves his Breville Filter Brewer ($389, but there are entry-level models under $100).

“It’s the easiest and cheapest way of making coffee,” he says. Cohen stresses the importance of visiting a cafe, even if it’s just to buy beans and gear for domestic use. “The home experience is made all the more special if it starts at your local cafe,” he says. “You can talk to someone, explain what you want, they can talk about flavours and methods, and you can get quality beans that have been freshly roasted, rather than mass market coffee from the supermarket.”

Small Batch’s Andrew Kelly uses a V60, a plastic dripping cone that costs around $10. Every coffee expert will tell you grinding to order is key: Kelly recommends a hand-cranked grinder (from around $80). The ethics of sourcing are key to him (when he speaks to Good Food for this story, he’s with farmers in Colombia, with whom he’s built long relationships).

“For us, buying ethically means the coffee is grown in a clean environment, not contributing to deforestation, by a producer who has a livelihood from coffee, not just a survival,” he says. “It costs me $2 for a two-cup V60, which is what I need to get going in the morning.”

Water temperature is crucial to bring any coffee to life without scalding it. “Temperature is flavour,” says Cohen. “You need enough to extract the coffee properly but boiling water will taint the flavours.” The ideal is 93 to 94 degrees but if you can’t measure it exactly, boil your kettle, turn it off as soon as the water starts to burble, open the lid and wait a minute before using it.

Melbourne-based roaster What Da Phin helps home brewers make Vietnamese coffee by selling “phins”, the filters which sit over your cup and the Vietnamese coffee beans to go with it. What Da Phin owner Ken Nguyen loves the ritual. “I put condensed milk in the bottom of my cup, chat with my friends for the five minutes it takes to drip through, and stir it with ice if I like.”

Cost per cup: about 90¢.

Parachutes

This handy single-serve subset of the filter arena is popular with travellers and home drinkers: open a sachet, clip the little cardboard handles to your drinking cup, and gently pour hot water over pre-ground coffee. Single O’s paper parachutes stand out for being compostable at home. Five Senses uses ethically sourced coffee for its drip bags, Padre has a couple of varieties that work black or with milk, and Market Lane uses directly sourced Colombian coffee in its version.

Cost per cup: around $2-$3.50.

Instant

It’s OK, you’re allowed. Leading specialty coffee player Axil sells jars of instant coffee ($25) crafted by Jack Simpson, crowned Australian Barista Champion in 2023. Cost per cup: 80¢.

It’s even OK to have Nescafe. The classic Greek frappe was invented in the 1950s by a representative from parent company Nestle who shook up instant coffee granules, milk and ice when he needed a caffeine hit. As a new Greek wave pushes through Australia, frappe is definitely trending – it’s a perfect summer drink and easy to froth up in a cocktail shaker. Use the supermarket stuff or upgrade with a bag from Melvourni.

Cost per cup: $2-$3.50, depending on your granules.

Ready to drink

Anyone who’s been to Japan knows that coffee in a can is big. Local options include the GOAT Oat Iced Latte from Single O and a sparkling coffee tonic from Toby’s Estate. In an emergency, there is no shame in sinking an iced coffee Big M.

This story was fuelled by filter coffee, made at home in a Moccamaster ($535 RRP). I have a fortnightly coffee subscription from Stella ($25 for 250 grams of single-origin ground coffee) and use about 25 grams to make 500 ml of coffee each morning. (Is that a lot? Don’t judge me!) The daily coffee cost is $2.50 plus about 17¢ for each filter paper plus 50¢ cost-per-wear for the machine over three years. Daily cost: $3.17.