I'm not talking about selling venti cups of coffee out of your front door.  What I am suggesting is that you save your hard earned money and create your own coffee house feel in your own home by implementing these few tips.

Imagine this, you walk into your favorite Java Bucks, Star Brewing Company, or whatever it's called on the street in your town.  When you  walk in these shops you get the feeling like you've stepped into another realm themed on relaxation, warmth, friendship and overall comfort.  These are the big draws to enjoying a cup of gourmet coffee in these usually great coffee houses, but all of these warm and fuzzy feelings come with a cost.

Let's quickly add up those costs!!

1. Cost of gas it takes to drive your car to the coffee shop.

2. Once there, you order a small or medium cup of coffee then decide on the $5-6 large or extra-large mocha, half-caf, whatever.

3. Then on the way to the cashier you see a $4.00 double fudge brownie cake thing that was just out of the oven tempting you.

4.  All the while, noticing the soft melodies of an acoustic guitar captivating you over the coffee shop's stereo system.  When you inquire who the artist is, the barista promptly points you to a shelf packed with the artist's CD that you can take with you for only $17.99

So far our trip to the coffee shop has cost us almost $30 not including gas. There is more of the up-sell going on here these are just a few examples. You get the idea

Why not save that $30 plus trip and transform your own house into a coffee shop feel of your own?  Get all of the same sensations you get at expensive coffee shops at home plus more by using these tips. Here are 5 tips on how to do it.

1.  Give your home the look of a coffee house or coffee shop. You can do this in a couple of ways: If you need new furniture anyway go for the big comfy sofas and chairs for your living or family room.  Or if you have an outdoor area such as a deck or patio transform it with outdoor patio furniture that resemble couch, chairs and coffee table feel that you see at the local Java Bucks. Also add some big fluffy pillows and an ottoman somewhere in the room.  This tip goes along way to create the mood you get while drinking coffee with friends.  Or if none of the above are possible for you then try a simple rearrangement of your existing furniture to bring conversations together in a closer environment.

2. Create the atmosphere of the coffee house.  You can easily accomplish this by burning some of your favorite scented candles to get that earthy tone flowing throughout the room.  The burning candles also create a nice lighting effect.  If you are drinking coffee during the day close the curtains or shades a little to darken the mood even more.  Another element of the surroundings to incorporate is calm tranquil music playing from your CD player or tune to that music channel on the digital cable or satellite dish that you normally just pass by with the remote on the way to the classic rock or dance music.

3. Serving cheap coffee. This doesn't have to be a bad thing if you have the right tools to prepare coffee.  Buying cheap coffee is an art.  It doesn't mean spending the least amount of money on poor quality coffee.  It means quite the opposite,  getting the most  for your money.  If you know what you're looking for you can get great deals on flavored coffees, whole bean roasted coffee, even green coffee beans for those who like home roasting their java.

This is also the part of the experience where you get to play the barista, or master coffee maker.  Grab some exotic recipes for making different coffee drinks, maybe even some alcoholic ones too. Experiment with cheap coffee press or if you want to move up to the espresso machines with milk frothers for cappuccino do that.  It's your party and if you want to start out by having a plain cup of instant coffee then that's fine too.  The most important part is that you get to enjoy your favorite coffee with friends or alone if that is your goal.

4.  Coffee goes with sweets.  That's why they have that well lighted display case next to the cash register at the fancy coffee shop.  Planning the home coffee experience is an excellent excuse for trying on your pastry chef hat by experimenting with baking cookies, cakes, or scones.  They make a great conversation starter while everyone is sitting around enjoying the first cup.  Plan B is to stop by the bakery at your local supermarket and grab some brownies or an angel food cake, cool whip, and strawberries.

5. Invite your own guests to come and enjoy coffee with you. This is probably the best tip of all and not a new one people used to get together for coffee or even tea all of the time.  Life is generally too fast for most of us now and we all need to take the time to slow down if only for an hour or two in the afternoon and enjoy some time with people we like and care for.  This is better accomplished at home rather than taking a chance making a conversation with someone at the coffeehouse that has earbuds in their ear and staring intently into a laptop screen.  So use these tips to prepare and then go out an invite one, two or ten people over to enjoy the fresh cheap coffee you made, and the great baked goods that didn't cost a fortune.

Bonus tip:  Plan the conversation topics. The people you do invite will most likely be impressed with what you have done so far in putting this together and are conversation topics themselves. Be sure to have some topics to throw out for discussion when the air gets dry.  This will keep them coming back or even volunteer to host one of their own afternoon coffee.

I hope you have enjoyed these tips for creating your own coffeehouse at home.  You will probably spend more than the thirty bucks but its a lot more fun at home with family and friends drinking a great cup of coffee isn't it?

Subscribe to my RSS feed by clicking the RSS button at the top right of the site.

Tags: barista coffee maker, best cheap coffee, cheap coffee press, cheapcoffee, coffee house, Coffee Shop, drinking coffee, espresso machine, flavored coffee, green coffee beans, venti, whole bean roasted coffee

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 23rd, 2009 at 9:39 am and is filed under Cheap Coffee How to..... You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.