As the Telegraph's thrifty buys expert, I seek out the best value staples to make you a savvier shopper. This week, coffee kits

Grabbing a cup of ­coffee on the way to work? That’s £3 a day or £15 a week. Throw in the odd afternoon top-up and you could be splashing a grand a year on your caffeine hit – enough to buy a top-of-the-range, bean-grinding, milk-steaming home cappuccino maker, the kind that can do everything except write your name on the cup and say something patronising about single-estate, water-processed Ethiopian Yirgacheffe.

But the truth is that the average coffee-shop coffee isn’t even very good. Poorly cleaned equipment, badly programmed electronic machines and stale beans are all too common – you can often do better at home, even without the flashy equipment, and save yourself a pile of cash into the bargain.

You could spring for a pod machine – but even without the cost of the kit, the pods cost at least 25p each, and you’ll probably want two to make the equivalent of a takeaway coffee. There are more cost-efficient ways of doing it.

The first step is to match the coffee you buy for home to the coffee you like to drink out. You say Costa skinny latte, I say Colombian single estate Acevedo. Neither is right or wrong: coffee is all about pleasing yourself.

The big-name coffee shops tend to favour dark roasts, which evens out any variation in the beans and makes for consistency. If you like this flavour then look for own brand dark Italian-style roasts.

But if the slight acidity of the coffee in a “hipster” coffee shop is what you yearn for, but never achieve at home, you need to look for “speciality coffee”. This is coffee that has been independently assessed and achieved a score of over 80/100 from judges called “Q graders”. 

Very little of this is sold in supermarkets: you’ll generally need to buy it from independent roasters, coffee shops and delis, or online. One brand that has made it on to the shelves is Union Coffee. Look out for its Great Taste Award-­winning Revelation Espresso or the Sumatran Gajah Mountain coffee (£6 for 200g, Sainsbury's and Waitrose; makes 13 cups based on 15g per double espresso or mug of drip/cafetiere coffee).

Now you just need a travel cup to take it into work (above right). If you have to refill at a coffee shop, you’ll be doing the right thing environmentally and most coffee shops offer a discount if you use your own cup. If they don’t, ask why.

Travel cups need to be easy to hold as well as to drink out of, sturdy – and leakproof. It’s on the last point that most fall down, and no one wants to run for the train with latte down their suit. 

I’m devoted to my Yeti cup: it keeps drinks hot for an astonishing length of time – or cold, for frappé lovers; it’s fantastic for ice cream on the beach, too (no more shovelling down the gelato before it melts). The new “hotshot” lid is truly coffee-proof, as long as the seal is well aligned. Available at Yeti cup, £25. 

The Sophia Loren of coffee pots, with its hourglass figure and Italian chic. The lower chamber is filled with water and heated, until the steam is forced through the ground coffee above.

How to make it: fill the base with water to just below the valve. Fill the sieve-like coffee holder. Heat on a small hob ring gently until you hear a faint roar as the last of the water turns to steam and rises through the coffee to condense again in the upper chamber. Turn off the heat and leave brewing for a minute or two. Pour carefully (it will be hot).

The kit: architect David Chipperfield’s subtle updating of the classic Moka design for Alessi isn’t a budget option – it costs from £33 for a three-cup pot – but it’s undeniably stylish; or Pro Cook has a similar size for £12.

Cost per cup, based on £5 for 250g coffee: 20p

This low-tech way of making coffee has had a renaissance in the last five years – strange as it’s how my mother made it in the 1970s.

To make: for two mugs, put 30g (six level tablespoons) medium-fine ground coffee in a filter-lined drip cone (the cognoscenti like to wet the paper with boiling water first) standing on a jug. Heat 500ml water to just off the boil, and pour 50ml over the coffee, getting it all wet, and leave to swell or “bloom” for 30 seconds. Pour the rest of the water slowly and evenly in three more batches, leaving it to drip for 30 seconds between each batch.

The kit: The V60 coffee dripper, considered the best on the market by caffeine heads, is also one of the cheapest: £7 for a “size two”, which makes two good-sized mugs. Melitta filter papers are around £1.20 for 40 from supermarkets.

Cost per cup, based on £5 for 250g coffee and 3p for a filter: 32p (not including milk)

If it has to be espresso, but you can’t afford or don’t have space for an espresso machine, then AeroPress could be the answer. Designed by American engineer Alan Adler, it’s effectively a huge syringe, with the coffee forced through a filter at high pressure.

To make: wet the filter. Screw the base and the filter on to the wider pipe. Place filter end down on a cup. Add 25g (two scoops) fine ground coffee, and fill with water to the number “4”. Stir, brew for 30 seconds to a minute, then press the plunger.

The kit: Aeropress coffee maker £36.99, filters £6.99 for 350; Aeropress. 

Cost per strong cup (or two diluted), based on £5 for 250g coffee and 2p for a filter: 52p

A simple plunger system, which despite the name isn’t French at all. Invented by an Italian in 1929, it became popular in the UK in the 1980s.

To make: for two mugs, use 30g medium-coarse ground coffee for 500ml water. Rinse the cafetière out with boiling water, add the coffee and pour over the just-off-boiling water. Stir well, then cover and leave for four minutes. Push down the plunger and pour straight away.

The kit: Cafetiere French Press coffee maker, £8.95, Bodum; or Morrisons Black Cafetiere £4.50.

Cost per cup, based on £5 for 250g coffee: 30p.

As soon as coffee is ground, it starts losing flavours, so it’s worth investing in a grinder. Coffee nuts insist on a burr grinder, which mills the beans between two plates and gives the best consistency. But electric ones are a big investment – £50 plus – and while I like mine it makes a right old mess of the work surface, with stray grounds flying out when it’s opened. Cheaper hand-cranked versions are available but you’ll need 10 minutes to spare (and some serious biceps) to use one.

A regular coffee grinder, with a propeller-like blade that chopped the beans, does pretty well, and takes up far less space.

The kit: Morrisons Coffee Grinder, £10, Morrisons. A totally serviceable basic model which does the job. Wahl James Martin Chop and Grind, £30 Kaleidoscope. Two dishwasher-safe chopping bowls mean you can use it for spices too, without your coffee tasting of curry. 

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