Found a $5 french press at a hostel swap shelf, saved me $45 on coffee in 2 weeks
Some guy in Berlin told me to check hostel swap shelves before buying anything on the road. Grabbed a perfectly good french press for free and made my own coffee for 14 days straight. Has anyone else found actual useful gear this way?
Oh man, are we REALLY romanticizing dumpster diving for coffee makers now? I found a "free" french press at a hostel once and spent 10 minutes scrubbing some crusty, suspicious residue off the mesh filter. Plus the glass was all scratched up so it looked like I was brewing my coffee in a foggy fish tank. I'd rather just split a $3 instant coffee pack with someone than pretend I'm a budget gourmet hero over a grimy piece of thrift store glass. Not everything needs to be a life hack just because you saved five bucks on something you could've bought new for $12 at Target.
The mental image of scrubbing "crusty suspicious residue" off a hostel french press is honestly worse than any bad cup of coffee I've ever had. Keep your "budget gourmet hero" status, @cooper.reese, I'll take my $3 instant in a clean plastic cup any day.