I Never Liked Coffee In The First Place: Why I Still Don’t Get The $5 Cup of Joe Craze

Let me start with a confession:
I’ve never liked coffee. Not the taste, not the smell, and definitely not the price tag that comes with it when you order from your favorite café. I know that statement might sound almost un-American to some people—after all, we live in a country that practically runs on caffeine—but it’s the truth.

Even though I don’t drink coffee, I’m surrounded by it. I see friends post latte art on Instagram, co-workers walking into the office every morning clutching their Starbucks cups like golden tickets, and even parents at soccer games sipping their cold brews while cheering from the sidelines. It’s as if the entire adult population has agreed that the first rule of modern life is: must have coffee in hand at all times.

But here’s the thing that baffles me: people willingly spend five dollars or more every single day for that cup of Joe. Sometimes twice a day. If you add that up, that’s anywhere between $100 to $200 a month—on coffee alone.

The Math Doesn’t Lie

Let’s do a quick calculation (and you can double-check me on this). If someone spends $5 a day on coffee, that’s:

• $25 a week (assuming five workdays),
• Around $100 a month,
• And roughly $1,200 a year.

Now, if that same person invests that $1,200 every year instead—let’s say in a retirement account with a modest 6% annual return—over 30 years, they’d have over $100,000 just from skipping coffee shop runs. One hundred thousand dollars! That’s not chump change. That’s a decent chunk of a retirement fund, a dream vacation, or even the down payment on a house.

And yet, despite the math being so clear, coffee shops are packed every morning. Lines stretch out the door at Starbucks, Peet’s, and Philz. Even the drive-thru lanes snake around the block. People wait ten, sometimes fifteen minutes, just to hand over their hard-earned money for a drink that they could have brewed at home for about fifty cents.

So what’s going on here?

The Convenience Myth

If you ask coffee drinkers why they don’t just make it at home, the most common answer you’ll hear is “convenience.” They’ll say, “I don’t have time in the morning,” or “I need something to grab on the way to work.”

But is it really more convenient? You can buy a programmable coffee machine for $40 that brews your coffee automatically every morning at 7 a.m. You can even have it grind the beans and pour it into a travel mug for you. That’s convenience.

Waiting in line, shouting your name over espresso machines, and then praying the barista spelled it right on your cup? That’s not convenience. That’s a ritual—a habit that feels comforting because everyone else is doing it too.

And that’s really what this is: a social ritual.

The Social Cup of Joe

When you buy coffee from a café, you’re not just buying caffeine—you’re buying the experience. You’re buying the friendly greeting from the barista who knows your order by heart, the smell of roasted beans, the background buzz of people typing away on laptops or chatting with friends. You’re buying a few minutes of what feels like connection in a world that often feels disconnected.

In a way, the coffee shop has become the modern-day village square. It’s where people gather, talk, and feel part of a community. And I get that—truly, I do. Humans crave connection. We like being recognized, even if it’s just by the person who hands us our cup every morning.

But let’s not kid ourselves: that sense of belonging comes at a price. Literally.

Because what you’re really paying for is not the coffee—it’s the feeling. The caffeine could just as easily come from a cup brewed at home or even from tea or an energy drink. But what people want is the ritual. The walk to the café. The small talk. The comfort of a familiar routine.

Coffee as a Status Symbol

There’s also the status element. In many ways, carrying around a branded coffee cup has become a small symbol of success—or at least of fitting in. You see it in movies and TV shows all the time: the busy professional rushing to work, latte in hand, looking important and productive. Coffee has become shorthand for adulthood, for hustle, for ambition.

Owning a reusable cup from a local roaster or a sleek Starbucks tumbler can even be a subtle statement: “I’m sophisticated. I care about quality. I’m part of the coffee culture.”

But here’s the irony: while people think they’re buying into sophistication, what they’re really doing is buying into a marketing illusion. Coffee companies have spent billions convincing people that their product is essential to daily life. And it worked. The idea that you need that $5 cup to start your day is one of the most successful pieces of branding in modern history.

Office Coffee vs. Store-Bought Coffee

At my own workplace, we have free coffee in the break room. Not the best stuff, sure, but it’s hot, it’s caffeinated, and it’s—most importantly—free. And yet, every morning, I still see co-workers stroll in with their cups from Starbucks or Philz.

When I ask why, I usually get a variation of:
“Oh, the office coffee tastes bad,” or “I just like my usual order.”

Fair enough. Taste matters. But here’s a thought: you can buy a $20 bag of premium coffee beans, grind them at home, and make a cup that rivals—or even beats—what you’d get at a café. Add a milk frother for another $10, and congratulations, you’ve become your own barista. After a few weeks, you’ll realize you’ve saved enough money to buy another bag—or even a nicer coffee machine.

So no, the barista doesn’t make it taste better. What makes it taste better is the story behind it—the fancy cup, the logo, the music playing in the background. The moment you strip away the branding and focus on the coffee itself, you start realizing how little sense it makes to pay so much for something so simple.

The Bigger Picture: Lifestyle Inflation

The coffee habit is just one small example of a bigger issue: lifestyle inflation. It’s what happens when people start earning more money and instead of saving or investing, they simply spend more—usually on small luxuries that add up over time.

That daily coffee, the $15 lunches, the streaming subscriptions you forgot about—each one feels small, harmless. But together, they quietly eat away at your financial future.

Most people don’t lose financial stability because of one big purchase; they lose it because of hundreds of small, habitual ones. And coffee is one of the most socially acceptable—and most ignored—of them all.

Breaking the Habit

Now, I’m not saying everyone should quit coffee cold turkey (though some people probably should for health reasons). What I’m suggesting is a little reflection. Ask yourself: why do I buy coffee every day? Is it because I truly love the taste, or because it’s part of my morning routine? Is it really about caffeine, or about comfort?

Once you start asking those questions, you might find that the answer isn’t about coffee at all—it’s about convenience, connection, and culture.

And if it’s really about caffeine, there are cheaper, faster options. Brew your own coffee. Try cold brew at home. Drink tea. Use the office coffee machine. You might find that once you get used to it, you don’t miss the café run at all.

Invest in a Coffee Machine, Not a Habit

For the price of two weeks of coffee-shop runs, you could buy a decent coffee maker. For the price of a month, you could buy a premium one. Some of them even have built-in grinders, milk frothers, and timers so your coffee is ready the moment you wake up. That’s true convenience.

Once you own one, your cost per cup drops to pennies. And you can experiment—different beans, different blends, even different brewing styles. You can customize your coffee exactly how you like it. No more waiting in line, no more overpriced drinks, no more “Is your name spelled J-O-N or J-O-H-N?”

Just pure, caffeinated independence.

The Final Sip

Look, I get it. Coffee isn’t just a drink—it’s a lifestyle. It’s the first warm thing that touches your lips in the morning. It’s the fuel that gets you through meetings, errands, and endless to-do lists. It’s the comfort blanket for busy adults.

But here’s the truth: you don’t need to spend $5 a day to enjoy that comfort. You can have the same experience at home, with more control over what you’re drinking and less strain on your wallet.

And who knows—maybe you’ll even find that once you step away from the daily coffee shop routine, your mornings become calmer, simpler, and a little bit freer.

So the next time you feel the urge to stop by your favorite café, ask yourself:
Is this about coffee—or about habit?
Because if it’s just habit, your wallet might thank you for breaking it.

In the end, I might never like coffee. But I definitely understand the satisfaction of saving money, skipping lines, and enjoying a simpler morning. And if you can do that and still get your caffeine fix? That’s the real American dream.