Is your takeaway cofee costing too much? It's probably more affordable than you realise
By April Glover|
It's a familiar scene in cafés across Australia.
You order a regular latte, perhaps it has oat milk or a pump of vanilla syrup. When you go to tap your card, an unexpected number pops up on the screen. $6?
It might seem like an overly expensive price for your morning cup of joe, but it's the only way coffee shops can survive in these trying times.
Shaun Kumar, Brand Ambassador for Piazza D'Oro coffee ANZ, has been in the business for years and he says the price of coffee these days shouldn't come as a surprise.
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"Coffee price has not really increased on par with everything else," Kumar tells 9Honey Kitchen.
"When I was at uni, my cup of coffee was costing, back in the mid-2000s, around $3.50 or $4." My local café still charges $4.50 per regular coffee."
The average price of a takeaway coffee in Australia, according to data sourced from ABC News, is $4.78. This is on the lower end of the scale, compared with $8.03 AUD in a city like San Francisco.
In fact, Kumar says this kind of pricing can mean almost no profit margins for a café. He explains that $6, for example, for a regular takeaway coffee is quite a reasonable price.
"Coffee bean pricing has gone up just in the last two years, 150 per cent as an average," Kumar reveals.
"Utilities for cafés have gone up a lot as well, electricity, gas, wages, super… You're working on very, very small margins here.
"Put yourself in the owner's shoes. They put their passion, their love for coffee into every single drink."
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Kumar points out that the price of other everyday food and drinks, like a pint of beer, haven't been under as much scrutiny as coffee.
"A pint of beer at my local is around $15," he says. "Whereas a coffee needs a good machine that you need to have to run, and people skilled enough to make it."
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When it comes to outrage over coffee prices, Kumar has also put to rest the endless debate over the price of iced coffee.
A regular iced coffee is often a few dollars more expensive than a hot one. But there's a good reason for this.
"Yes it's less work, but it's a bigger drink. My local does a 16-ounce (470ml) and there's a double shot in there. Also there's ice, plus you have a double shot with milk, which is marginally more," he says.
"And, if it's a specialty drink, it takes a little bit more to prepare. I mean, it's a bigger drink."
Though coffee prices seem like a direct reflection of the painful cost-of-living crisis that never seems to end, Kumar says he has faith the café industry in Australia will survive and thrive.
"The coffee culture is very strong in Australia," he says. "[But] I'd like to see a bit more understanding, giving cafés a bit of slack and a bit of support."
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