On Friday, I had the opportunity to have an exclusive meet-up with not only a represenative for Starbucks but also got to pick the brain of a “Starbucks Coffee Expert”. Did you know there was even such a thing? Look for the employees with the black aprons they know all of the good juicy coffee “gossip”.

So the point of my in-store visit was to learn all of the ways that an average customer can save money. There is no doubt about it, I am a Starbucks “junkie”. To me there is no other kind of coffee that I want to drink. True, I’ll grab a cup of just about anything if I am in dire need of a fix. But my favorite in terms of taste is always going to be Starbucks.

So with my confession of love for Starbucks you can only imagine my excitement when I learned of the opportunity to ask a Starbucks expert and learn the “trade secrets” to saving money on some of my favorite drinks.

Here are a few ways I learned to save while on my trip…

1. Not all Coffee at Starbucks is “$4″: according to Starbucks 50% of their beverages are under $3. Every cup of coffee at Starbucks isn’t going to run you always run you a $4 bill, there are cheaper alternatives that people don’t often consider. Take a typical brewed coffee, very budget friendly.

2. B.Y.O.C.- Bring Your Own Cup: I like this idea just because I really adore Starbucks tumblers, but it doesn’t even have to be a Starbucks brand tumbler any travel mug will do. Just for bringing your own cup you can save ten cents, and you know what every little bit helps, right?

3. Channel your inner Barista, Learn to make a cheaper alternative to your favorite drink: The “coffee expert”, Ashli, that I was learning from was telling me about one of their regular customers. He loved his Starbucks, and was a daily visitor to their store. And then one day the unexpected happened, he lost his job. As sad as that may be he wasn’t willing to give up his Starbucks love so he asked his Barista how they could mimic his favorite drink but with other ingredients to make it cheaper. And sure enough they were able to create a similar drink to his favorite and save him money off his daily visit.

4. Enjoy a refill for 50 cents on brewed coffees in-store: Hanging out with friends? Or trying to get some work done on the go? Head inside your local Starbucks and enjoy a cup of joe, when you run out take advantage of the 50 cent refill policy. Starbucks card holders get this lovely perk “on the house”.

5. Brew your own Starbucks at home= MAJOR savings! This is my number one recommendation to anyone that is a huge fan Starbucks, like myself, but due to “the times” are finding they just can’t make that trip to the store as often as they would like. I’ve been a “brew at home” connoisseur for several months now. I recenlty purchased an espresso maker at my local Walmart for around $30 which was a steal if you know how much an espresso maker can cost normally. There are no bells and whistles to the product but it does all the things I need it to do, make espresso and steam milk. There is just a different taste that you get when you make your drink with an espresso maker than if you would if you were to drip-brew. The espresso maker paired with the Starbucks beans, makes it feel like I am at a coffee shop every single morning (& I’m still in my pajamas). To get the freshes possible taste, I like to grind my own beans. So from the store I buy whole beans, keep them in the fridge in a air-tight container, and grind a couple tbsp right before I’m about to brew my own coffee. Being a new espresso at home maker, I will let you know that if you decide to take the plunge into learning how to make espresso at home that it does take several times before you learn to master your personal perfect drink. But once you discover it, you will wonder why you haven’t done it before now.

6. Enjoy a coffee press for two: I never knew that Starbucks had coffee presses for you to use in-store. I’ve used a coffee press in my own home until it broke due to excessive use but the fact that you can use one in the store is such a huge WoW factor for friends. For approximately $3 (according to Starbucks) a coffee press can be used with your favorite blends and costs less than 2 Grande drip coffees.

7. Pairings, are the way to go to get your Coffee & Treat: think of a Pairings as the “value menu” for Starbucks. All day long, a variety of different pairings are offered for $3.95.

8. Treat Receipts until September 30th: Bring your receipt from your morning purchase at Starbucks back after 2pm and get a Grande cold beverage for $2. This is a great way to snag a Vivanno late in the afternoon for nearly half-off the original price. (You only have until September 30th to indulge in this money saving “nugget”)

9. Take advantage of Starbucks Card Rewards: Registering for a Starbucks Card brings all kinds of special benefits like customized drinks with free syrups or soy. They also have this cute little mini Starbucks Card that will fit on your key rings so you’ll never be without it.

10. Enjoy your visit. It is like a Home away from home: One thing that I love about Starbucks is that they promise to make your order right, if not they will redo it for you for free until it is perfect. I’ve had to take advantage of this feature more than once in my Starbucks life, but each time my barista has been more than eager to correct the problem without any hassles. Starbucks is also a great gathering place for friends or a quiet getaway retreat for those looking to get a little work done.

I really enjoyed my personal one on one visit to my local Starbucks, it was a great experience to which I learned a wealth of information about Starbucks that I had no idea existed. For example the part about asking your barista to help you figure out how to make your favorite beverages at-home….to me that is simply priceless!

So my question to you is….Do you know of any ways to save money at Starbucks? What do you typically order?

Disclosure: Big HUGE thank you to Starbucks, Ashli “the coffee expert”, & Ashley from Edelman for allowing me to have a personal tour of one of my local stores. It truly was a wonderful experience.

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