You don't need to fork out a fiver for your morning brew.
If you've listened to the boomers in your life tell you "you'd be able to afford a house if it wasn't for those silly little oat lattes" for just about long enough, we feel your pain.
While most of us know coffee prices are the last thing standing in the way of us owning property, it's hard to ignore the fact that they are rising ever higher. In an age where alternative milks, extra shots and syrup pumps can see the cost of your daily coffee skyrocket well up above the €5 mark, finding a decent cup at a reasonable price feels like opening up a regular old Wonka Bar and seeing the glint of a golden ticket inside.
And that's where we come in, with this round up of 5 genuinely great cups of coffee that won't cost you an arm, leg and a mortgage.
Heartbreak Social Club
Drury Street
What was once a temporary deal is now a permanent fixture at this rose-tinted café inside a tattoo parlour on Drury Street.
The café initially launched the deal for December 2023, in a bid to keep coffee prices low during a month where consumer expenditure is otherwise at an all time high. Once January hit, to offset the blues The Coffee Shop announced that their flatties, lattes and capps would come with a €2 price tag permanently.
The coffees in question come from Pine Cone Coffee, a small batch roastery who strive to tell the story of each batch of beans from its country of origin. Several stages and a lot of care go into their roasting process, so you know you're not sacrificing the quality of your cup when copping Heartbreak's €2 deal.
Via Instagram/heartbreak_social_club
Flower & Bean
Cork Street
Flower & Bean is the brainchild of Gregory and Marta, a duo with a wealth of coffee and baking knowledge between them. Barista, roaster and "professional coffee nerd" Gregory oversees all things coffee-related, with the Flower and Bean team promising they'll "never serve coffee we wouldn't like".
The general consensus is that Flower & Bean see both coffee and baking as an exact science, so you can rest assured that what's in your cup and on your plate will be as close to perfect as humanly possible.
With this knowledge in tow, Gregory prepares a delicious batch brew filter every morning. For many coffee connoisseurs, filter is the optimum way to enjoy a specialty brew and at Flower & Bean, a cup of it will cost you just €3. What's more, their discount for bringing your own cup is an impressive 50c (you'd be hard pressed to find a keep cup discount over 10 or 20c in Dublin, in my experience), meaning your morning coffee can set you back just €2.50.
Via Instagram/flower_n_bean
Mimi's Coffee
Westmoreland Street
Located at the front of The Pillar Bar on Westmoreland Street, Mimi's has all the typical traits of a great Dublin café - friendly, welcoming staff, speciality coffee from Rialto roasters Imbibe, freshly baked pastries, with just one small difference - nothing on the drinks menu will cost you more than €3.
Speaking to Lovin at the time of their opening, the Mimi team said:
"We understand how hard it is to live in Dublin at the moment, whether it’s coffee or rent, it’s not a cheap city. We realise that there are so many students and workers going in for a long honest day of hard work so we want to try to help them out, we just want to avoid selling a coffee that’s €4.50 as we have been students and worked many jobs before!"
The café also have a student deal which is €3 for any coffee plus free alternative milk (oat, coconut) and a free syrup too (even with iced coffees) so our oat milk princesses don't need to miss out on the action.
Via Instagram/mimis_coffee_
Hard Ground Café
The Mendicity Institution, Usher's Island
Hard Ground is a café with a difference, working to disrupt the cycle of homelessness, by providing work and training for people who are homeless and feeding profits right back into a great charity.
An initiative of Mendicity, the oldest working charity in Dublin, Hard Ground serves up coffee carefully roasted by JJ Darboven at the extremely reasonable price of €2.75 - with all proceeds going towards the charity's healthcare, food, advocacy and shelter services.
Via Instagram/mendicity.dublin
Doppio Zero
Abbey Street Upper
If you yearn for the strong, darker roasts associated with the Italian coffee world, Doppio Zero will fulfil your fantasies of intense, frothy macchiatos with a view of the Colosseum without you ever having to leave Dublin 1.
Widely praised for their authentic pizza and pasta dishes, Doppio Zero is also a great place to stop off for a coffee and a pastry without having to break the bank - their Americano will set you back just €2.50, with milky coffees coming in at €3.
Via Instagram/doppiozerocaffe
Did we miss out your favourite spot for affordable coffee in Dublin? Let us know!
Header image via Instagram / Flower & Bean / Heartbreak Social Club
