I wonder if this is compounded by the prevalence of work-from-home. After all, I can not only make very good coffee, but don't even have to go anywhere for it. Although, I don't mind a nice bike ride, and I realize that a trip to the coffee shop is more than just for procuring coffee.

As for pastries, toast on homemade bread has no competition.

toast on bread?

Oops I meant toast made from homemade bread.

> Hasn't it always been cheaper to make at home?

Of course it was. I make much better coffee at home than I could get at Starbucks. For me it's about something else: hanging out with friends or working on my laptop in an environment that's more interesting that my room or office. This is what I pay $10 of $11 for. (But admittedly, this happens rarely these days.)

I can make a great cup a coffee for about 25 cents. I switch to using a pour over setup. I buy a pound of good quality ground coffee for about $20.

Always cheaper, but now really cheaper. The line people draw when making a decision has shifted a lot.

I mean, Starbucks pastries are just not good. If I can pay a buck more and get something good, or go to the corner store and get a donut for $1.5 why would you go to Starbucks?

back in the late 90s, early 2000s Starbucks use to source all their pastries from local bakers.

Quality and taste was much better back then.

Now everything is made at scale with industrial ingredients, frozen, and mass distributed.

Or $8 for a dozen at the grocery store.

Hell, you can make very good espresso with no effort or cleanup on a Nespresso machine for ~$1 a cup. Plus, the aluminum pods are 100% recycled by the company if you send them back.

I have never had a nespresso pod which was close to "very good". It's marginally better than instant but that's all.

Sure, if you enjoy the taste of plastic. As much as I like espresso drinks, I’d rather opt for a good press coffee or drip. That said, my wife still loves it so I’ve let it go.

The convenience factor is the killer app for me. Just loading the pod and pressing a button. Done.