Economics of Coffee #1 : Is fresh coffee a luxury?

Each pack of decent coffee beans here costs about US $10 (or more) and I've started to wonder if I'm living a bit too extravagantly. Am I? Let me do some calculations using a persona to find out:

(*Note: this is a very generic calculation. pls do not take this too seriously!*)

Let's take an entry level educated Singapore adult, maybe a university graduate or a very successful polytechnic graduate + he knows how to appreciate good coffee. He earns say... S$3000/month.

Starting money: $3000

If I'm not wrong, he needs to deduct 20% for CPF (a form of compulsory savings for citizens and permanent residents). So, his actual take-home pay is $2400.

Money after CPF deduction: $2400

Being an Asian society, many of us still conform to values such as respect and gratitude towards our parents. So, we give our parents token sum of money as "allowance". The rate among my friends is 10% of income for each parent. Therefore, for our modest Singapore adult example, let's imagine he gives $600 for 2 parents.

Money after parent allowances: $1800

It's important to save for the rainy day, right? So, let's say he purchases some basic hospitalisation and life insurance. And let's give him a family. He's married but has no children yet. So, he has a house. There's no need to worry about housing loan because it can be paid using his CPF. But he needs to get some fire insurance for the house. In addition, he wants to put aside some money for future use, such as for raising children or a holiday trip. So in total, he puts aside say $1000, which is actually not a lot.

Money after saving: $800

How about food expenses? I'm going to calculate this loosely. Let's say he eats out everyday. On weekdays, he'll dine at a food court for lunch and dinner: $5/meal x 2meals/day x 22weekdays/month = $220. On weekends, he likes to reward himself and perhaps go for better meals for dinners but still eat at a food court for lunch: ($5/food court lunch x 2 + $25/better dinner x 2) x 4 weekends = $240. So, in total, he spends a modest $460 for meals. Let's round it up to $500 since we don't know when he'll want to have a drink with friends in a bar, etc.

Money after food: $300

Then, we still need to account for transport. Given his income, he definitely can't afford a car in Singapore. He'll have to take public transport. Let's just say he spends $150 for public transport, which means $5/day averagely. Each single trip should not cost more than $2 but maybe some days he stays home and doesn't travel or he could take a cab because he's late for work. So $150 is fine.

Money after transport: $150

Given that he has a house, he needs to pay utilities and other miscellaneous things. I'll imagine he doesn't stay home in the day. So utilities won't be so bad. So perhaps we'll use $80.

Money after utilities and miscellaneous expenditures: $70

How about clothing? Even if he lives modestly, he need to replace old clothes. Good thing he's a man. So maybe he'll just use $50/month for shopping.

Money after shopping: $20

Well, now that he only has $20 left, I don't think he can be a regular fresh coffee drinker. Fresh coffee beans in Singapore cost an average of S$15/250grams and that'll probably last only 2 weeks if a person drinks 1 cup/day. This means he needs $30 if he wants to drink one cup of fresh coffee per day. He's a little short of cash. /hmmm


Conclusion: 

Well, given this set of calculation, I think fresh coffee is a luxury. It's not a staple for an entry level working adult with financial responsibilities. That says a lot about the people who drink fresh coffee in Singapore.

That said, I still love fresh coffee and I'm glad I can afford it!

French Press, nice to meet you again!

Equipment

Breakfast with Kaya (egg+coconut jam) toast. I'm Singaporean!

Residue at the bottom of the cup

After Aeropress-ing for more than a month, I heard my poor Bodum calling out to me. The poor thing was covered with layer of neglect. Yeap, so I brought it out and used it today!

I took 2 scoops of coffee beans using the Bodum scoop, which is much smaller than an Aeropress' and grinded coffee with my Hario turned 10 clicks away from the tightest configuration. 300ml of hot water was added to the device and steeped for 4mins before pressing. The plunger went down easily. Too easily, I think. I'll grind the beans 8 clicks away from the tightest configuration next time. By the way, not much bubbling and "foam" was observed. Does this mean the coffee really isn't fresh?

I noticed that the coffee made by the french press had a glistening layer of oil on the surface. Perhaps the psychological effect of the visuals, I felt the coffee tasted slightly "creamier" than an Aeropress-ed one. All in all, the end result was acceptable and still good.

However, the Starbucks blend isn't doing very well with us. My husband stopped asking for coffee recently because his right thumb started trembling uncontrollably. He has vitamin B-12 and D deficiency and we thought that maybe coffee isn't good for his condition. So, it's just me now. 

New Year, New Beans!

Starbucks House Blend (Medium Roast) Whole Bean Coffee

We finished Peet's Major Dickson Blend in just two weeks! Even though we love it, it seems that the supermarket hasn't restock fresh beans from Peet's yet. The old stock were going on sale and I'm not sure if they'll be good.

Hence, we decided to get the Starbucks House Blend, mainly because my hubby would like to give Starbucks a try.

Initial review:
Well, I used the Aeropress for it too. It doesn't taste as thick as Major Dickson's and it has less nuances. Still, it's smooth, and not bitter! So, that's good enough for me.

By the way, that's my coffee mug over there. I realise that the serving container does accentuate the coffee experience!