Do you find yourself hopeless in lecture halls without a cup of coffee inside you? Can you not kick-start your morning without a caffeine fix? If you’re the type of student who needs to fine-tune their focus and elongate their attention span with the help of a cup of steaming coffee, you probably spend your fair share on takeaway lattes and cappuccinos.

However, you don’t need to siphon all of your student loan into the pockets of your local barista to drink a gourmet cup of coffee. Indeed, you can even personalise your own home brew to achieve the flavour you want and the style you crave, without denting the weekly budget. Here are a handful of great economical and creative tips to help you jive up your Java, which demonstrate there are plenty of ways to brighten up your morning brew.

Percolate to perfection

Make sure your student digs are equipped with the right sort of machine to whip up a stimulating batch of coffee every morning (or perhaps afternoon, evening and night-time, in some cases). Old school chrome percolators can add a touch of class to any kitchen, while espresso machines offer easy options for those low on energy or time, but still produce fantastic coffee.

Get the blend right

The key ingredient in any coffee are the nuts and bolts which go into it, which not only involves the beans themselves but also creamers, sweeteners and flavourings. Fortunately, you don’t have to venture outdoors to recreate your favourite blend, but simply home brew via the extensive array of niche bevvies you can now purchase. Perhaps you want a chai latte with lemongrass undertones and a subtle hint of mint?

Customised caffeination

You can even make your blend further personalised by choosing a completely unique concoction of flavours. For a little more moolah, custom roasters such as Custom Coffees will tailor-make a blend of up to three different strains of coffee from around the world to achieve a truly personal caffeinated experience. You can even design the label on the container!

Choose your receptacle wisely

There’s little point in having a unique blend of your own making if you aren’t showing it off in a customised receptacle in your lecture, is there? Of course, taste is paramount but image is a consideration, too. Make your coffee cup stand out from the crowd by custom-designing it yourself using the simple templates from Personalisation Mall, which allow you to plaster your mug all over your mug… if you understand the expression.

Sharpen up with a Sharpie

Of course, you might want to reel in the spending and hold back on the customised cuppage – no problem! You can create your own design without having to fork out for postage and packing, simply with the help of a plain white receptacle and a selection of Sharpies. For best results, use an oil-based pen and seal the design using an adhesive spray – other great inspirational ideas for such artsy projects can be found at Lifehacker.

If you’re going to stumble through the world attached to a coffee drip, you might as well make it fun, right?

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