College is a time of many things to do but not so much free time to do it. Class starts at 9:05, you have work at 3:30, friends to see so you feel like you are getting that true college experience, and when you're done with that, you still have two hours of French homework left to do. How do you get all of this done with very little sleep? Coffee.
Coffee is every college kid's favorite drink, but it is very pricy, and very few people can drink it black. These are three easy college-tested tips that make it more affordable to buy coffee and get through college.
1. Buy more expensive, darker roast k-cups/coffee filters
This seems counterintuitive but more expensive, darker roast coffee actually makes more than one serving of coffee. You can make two of the largest servings of a Keurig coffee maker and it still tastes like strong coffee. I am somebody who likes to drink two cups of coffee in the morning, so this trick allows me to only use one k-cup and actually save money. I went from buying two boxes of coffee a month to only one, so the extra money is worth it. Personally, the brand I buy in Starbucks Dark Roast K-cups, but most dark roasts work.
2. Use milk instead of creamer
Mostly older people are the ones who can drink their coffee black, which means most people in college drink cream in their coffee. However, cream does not give you much bang for your buck. Paying three dollars for a small bottle of cream will get you two-to-three weeks of cream usage, but a half gallon of milk will get you the same amount of cream for half the price. And, if you add a small amount of sugar or honey, it will taste just like adding Coffee Mate Italian Cream to a cup of joe.
3. Drink Starbucks Brewed Coffee
Starbucks is known for expensive coffee with lots of sugar, but a regular black coffee has 330 mg of caffeine, which is almost double the amount of its most caffeinated specialty drink. A venti Brewed Coffee is also two dollars and 75 cents compared to five dollars or more for one of their specialty drinks. Just add some of the free cream and sugar Starbucks has on its counters and it will be ready to drink. If you're on the go, but want to stick to a budget, brewed coffee from Starbs is the way to go. It'll give you a huge caffeine boost to get through that study session but won't break the bank.
Coffee is amazing at giving energy and getting people through late night study sessions. While it is important to stay on budget, and these tips should help with that, sometimes there's nothing better than getting a fancy coffee drink from a local coffee shop and enjoying the sweet taste of caramel or vanilla. But most can't afford that every day, so try these tips out, and I hope they help keep you awake and on budget.
