$8 For Coffee Hot with Chocolate : Coffee 2026

 Its a marvelous thing to think you are doing better, saving money, able to function without the need for a stimulant. It is also a quite another thing to learn how to descale the Miele Coffee Maker and put that on your resume. 

Alas, I have finally conquered that elusive task where I can confidently say I am more inclined to get a $3000 machine (after tax) when I win the #Lottery but, in the interim I am willing to purchase Instant Coffee and just add boiling water to make at home. 

I have some patience for when I go to work to wait the 30 or so minutes of travel time from train station to office to make a cup of faux mocha there but, I will pass no more than 10 coffee shops tempting me with the delicious luxury that is water strained through chopped roasted coffee beans so finely that it is intoxicating to smell. 

That is nothing to say of the ease to which I can "start" my day. I sometimes do something really insane is have a cup of coffee at 3pm in the afternoon. The realization that I might have insomnia because of this is nothing short of the fact that the coffee smells so good. Also, because of the insomnia I have to stay awake at work so the 3pm coffee is necessary and the whole process starts over and over. 

Yet, as I prepare for a winter family vacation here in the land of Oz ( San Francisco Bay Area ) I had to explain to them the cost with the daily ritual is why they must save money now. Even with hotels providing some coffee. On a recent weekend in San Francisco I spent no less than $8 before tip on one cup of coffee. Eight Dollars. This was before it was the #SuperElNino and way before anything hit any place in the Hawaiian islands. 

Now, I admit I have discovered something about the coffee ritual that is more disturbing. The appearance of the tip jar. This is because the payment processor is costing your favorite coffee shop precious pennies and percentages. You see the POS (payment operating system) charges a fee for people utilizing credit/debit cards on the total sale ie 3 to 5% on your $11 coffee with pastry while that .03 cents doesn't seem like a lot of your order is say under $5 the proprietor charges an extra .50 cents to cover the costs. Also, tips are considered part of the total sale not separate so you put a $1 ( which I usually do ) and that doubles the processing fee. 

So, the tip jar appears because having to go through receipts and time cards and dividing up the funds can incur another fee from the processing company. 

So, the rule of thumb is to not leave a digital tip but a physical one either change or a dollar in the jar because it won't cost the shop more money to process that tip. 

And you might be saving your local coffee shop too. 

Yes, paying $8 for a cup of coffee with chocolate is expensive but, I admit it is totally worth it.