Coffee connoisseurs and casuals alike know the cost of a cup. Selling for $2 to $5 or beyond depending on the store, drink size, and specializations, coffee can seem like a large, but necessary, expense.

However, new coffee price analysis powered by the technology firm Graphiq shows that, when adjusted for inflation using the consumer price index, Americans pay only slightly more for a cup of coffee now than they did in 1967.

Daily Coffee News breaks it down: editor Nick Brown said that the
“analysis shows that the average cup of coffee today is approximately $2.70, compared to $0.36 in 1967. However, when you adjust the 1967 price to inflation, it comes to $2.63. Over the 50-year average, the inflation-adjusted price of a cup of coffee is $3.15, $0.45 more than consumers are paying this year.”

This conclusion even considers the increasing popularity of specialty, seemingly more costly coffee.

“It seems that, on the whole, all the trumpet-blowing surrounding quality has sounded little in the way of economic change since 1967,” Brown said.

Despite the recent rise of coffee prices, it is still cheaper to make coffee at home than to splurge on individual cups. Even expensive coffee preferences save when made at home.

The Simple Dollar evaluates the cost of brewing your own cup, including the costs of grounds, water and electricity, filters, cups, and a coffee pot, as well as added ingredients like creamer.

“Depending on what exactly you order at your typical coffee chain, a 16-ounce coffee will set you back somewhere between $2 and $5,” Trent Hamm, founder of the Simple Dollar, said. “The variation here is pretty impressive, but even if you’re comparing the low end of a purchased coffee with the high end of a homemade cup, you’re still talking about a savings of a dollar per 16-ounce cup. It’s quite likely you’re saving even more than that.”

If you drink coffee more than occasionally, it would save you a worthwhile amount of money to brew your own.

Fortunately, online tips, tricks and hacks make it possible for even complicated orders to be replicated. Great flavor and, most importantly, the right caffeine fix, can be made easily. Here are some easy ways to get the most out of your roast.

For the most caffeine per cup, stay away from iced coffee. Even in the heat of the summer, ice cubes that take up to 30 percent of the cup take room away from the actual caffeine-delivering coffee.

A home remedy for iced coffee is coffee ice cubes. Freeze leftover coffee in an ice cube tray to add to coffee instead of regular ice cubes to prevent the drink from watering down and to pack the most caffeine per cup. One or two cubes can cool down too hot coffee, and a cupful creates an iced coffee. Pour milk over top for a nice iced latte.

One simple tip recommends buying whole bean coffee to grind right before brewing. This preserves the strength of the coffee and leads to a better taste than pre-ground coffee that might have lost some flavor or potency.

Apartment and dorm-ready tips adorn the Internet, like Spoon University’s easy microwave instructions on how to froth milk.

With a coffee pot, Keurig or French press, willing students can save money and literally wake up and smell the coffee.