After I shared Prince CuddleBunny's treat recipe with you yesterday, I thought about a moment a few days ago when Princess Eager suggested we pick up a drink from a local coffee shop, but I preferred to go home to the Prince's brew. I started to wonder how much that cup of deliciousness cost... or, actually saved, both in money and calories.Per 16 oz serving, here are the ingredients in our homemade treat:
1/8 c. (0.4 oz) coffee beans, making 1/4 c. espresso
2 Tbsp pumpkin spice creamer
8 oz vanilla soy milk
2 Tbsp whipping cream
1/2 Tbsp powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
cinnamon
nutmeg
These total 290-320 calories... with variation figured in for the inexact measurement on whip cream.
The cost is roughly $1.50, trying to be generous for the powdered sugar, vanilla, and spices, since their amounts and cost are more difficult to estimate accurately, but they'd be small. Also, there would be tiny costs for the water for the espresso, and gas to heat the stove.
According to Starbucks, their 16 oz/Grande, (Soy) Pumpkin Spice Latte with whip cream has 370 calories. Our drink isn't as sweet, so I think that's where the difference lies.At approximately $4.50, though, it's cost is 3 times that of the beverage I can enjoy at home. Plus, I'd miss that (priceless) grin of pride on my prince's face. ;-)
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JC nocoffeehere · 601 weeks ago
The calculations are fun though, especially the Calorie comparison--and the sweetness thing. I find most products being sold nowadays to be way too sweet. ;)
With the overhead and labor you can be pretty sure that any food made on site for sale is going to cost more than you can make it unless there are serious economies of scale involved. :)
RHome410 71p · 601 weeks ago
I use these calculations for my day-to-day decision making process. If I drive by the coffee shop and am tempted to stop, it helps me avoid the expense to know I have an option at 30% the price at home. I obviously expect that 'ready made' will be more than homemade, but it helps me to know exactly how much difference there is, and to what total it may reach in a month. That's easy to miss, spending $4 or $5 at a time.
I understand all of the store's rights and needs to charge what they charge, but I have to consider what I can afford, and control over what ingredients I want to put in my body comes into play, too, of course. For me, if it was just the savings on sugar consumption alone, that would be compelling enough, but I need the reminder! Basically, you're seeing the basis of my own lectures to myself. :D
JC offkilter · 601 weeks ago
RHome410 71p · 601 weeks ago