Thrifty Home Brew

I was born to a mother who was and still is, addicted to coffee and thrifting, so it only makes sense that I would follow in her footsteps. Little did she know, I would take both to a whole new level!   The husband and I have gotten into roasting and grinding coffee at home, and so where did I turn to to find the items needed to start this new hobby? Yup, you guessed it! The local Thrifty Shoppers and Salvation Armies.  Above are 4 items I recently picked up for a total of $10.  All but the grinder were brand new in their respective boxes! The thermos, I'm guessing retails for $15+ (it's Gevalia, so whoever donated it got it from some sort of rip off coffee club) but I paid $1, the small french press I got for $3 had the original price tag still on it of $13.95, the hand grinder was $3, which I located at Smith's Restaurant Supply new for $17.64, and the 8 cup Bodum french press was $3, which retails for $32 on Amazon.  If purchased "new" all 4 of these things would have cost me $78.59!

I also picked up a couple of glass canisters to store the "green beans" (unroasted coffee beans) for $1 each.  Of course I didn't find these items the day I decided I wanted to start my collection. It does take time and patience to find specific items, but in time I almost guarantee you will find what you are looking for, at fractions of what you would pay in stores.