There’s been a surge in popularity on TikTok of Gen Z users who share their tricks for emulating the coffee shop experience on a budget, from making cold brew in their refrigerators to bulk-buying plastic cups for iced lattes.
wut? Why?
this post was submitted on 17 Dec 2025
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Can’t have that coffee shop experience without creating tons of waste, I guess?
Coffee and tea should be one of the least wasteful things we consume (outside of production). You can literally compost the waste.
Blueberry bushes love it as a mulch.
Because showing up to work or a lecture rattling an iced latte like a maraca is the coffee shop experience.
True story, before the 80s, workers used to carry thermos flasks of coffee to work.
Some of us still do
Fuck yes.
I still use an inexpensive Contigo one I bought in the US for US$12 or something ten years ago. I don't think it's got much of the blue paint left on it now. Banging purchase.
UK squad: Oh hang on, looks like Asda do one similar over here for a tenner, just a tad smaller.
They can be bulky but it's much better than actively buying disposable cups for use at home. Hell, I've even bought a takeaway coffee from a local chain in the afternoon, rinsed it out, and put my own coffee in it for that evening's shift at work.
My office overlooks a construction site currently and it's incredible how much money workers are pissing away with Tim Hortons. Plus hundreds of waste cups they throw into the pickup beds then head to the highway for disposal.
I have a thermos and thermos-like metal coffee cup with a lid and it's saves so much money it's stupid. I found out I was spending $30-$40 a week on energy drinks.
Jokes on them though because I found out caffeine doesn't affect me at all so now my "coffee" is just hot chocolate. 🤫
So … the lineups at the local coffee shop are actually about signalling wealth and not just because they’re financially ignorant and/or too lazy to make it at home?
TIL.
People care about unexpected things!
Think about the average tiktok user
Anything to convince themselves everything is fine.
Hmm
Should I spend 50¢ on a cup of coffee grown in a microlot in honduras where the co-op pays the farmer well and tastes like "serious gourmet shit" by making it at home.
Or should I spend $5 on a cup of coffee from a store that fires employees for asking for a living wage or tries to unionize and where I'll wait in line just to get something that without more sugar and milk than actual coffee tastes terrible? (Starbucks)
Well, in fairness, it’s $7 now
Because the only difference between a large cup from Starbucks and Dairy Queen is serving temperature.
Europeans got it right: coffee water, get out.
it's a quandary sure enough
Trump brand chicory coming soon to "Real Patriots"!
I think they're trying to market Yaupon, which at least has caffeine
which at least has caffeine
…and is native to the U.S…
Why was my first thought, "Coffee enemas are decreasing"?
I’ve tried others to start my day, but nothing else quite works the same.
Came here to reply “like… up the ass?”. I like you friend.
You know why
No they aren't.
Any non-privacywalled link?
I just loooove these fuckers who advise you of cookies and only have “accept” as an option.
Lol I quit drinking the stuff. Fuck Capitalism!
I buy coffee from a local charity roaster that imports it from a particular grower's co-op on the same continent and provides development support. Only middleman capitalists involved are shipping and the retailer. Bonus: it's fresher roasted than anything else on the shelf, and so tastes better.