A question at least some of you out there have had: why is coffee so expensive?
I don't mean the commercial, mass-produced kind you can buy in bags from your local Walmart. I'm talking about the "good" kind of coffee.
Don't read this and think I'm too high-brow to drink a K-cup every now and then...and I know I'm not too good to enjoy a fresh, hearty brew of gas station coffee. Sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do. When you only have $1.50 and you need to fuel your caffeine addiction, QuikTrip has got you covered.
However, I'm definitely writing this article from the comfort of a trendy coffee shop with a dirty chai latte in front of me. Don't be fooled, I will acquire caffeine in many ways and I am not one to judge you for what kind of coffee you like.
But why does it cost you $5 to get a "fancy" cup of coffee at your local cafe?
First of all, you're paying for the experience. Everyone wants a beautiful, spacious, relaxing place away from home that they can go to study, read, meet up with friends, or do work. You want refinished furniture and wood floors and delightful smells in the air. You want cool lighting and stylish decor so you can get a perfect Instagram shot of your cup o' joe. Or espresso. Or triple-shot-no-foam-coconut-milk-latte-with-a-dash-of-cinnamon-on-top. You do you.
Secondly, cultivating that 'perfect' cup of coffee takes a lot of work. The beans that were used to make your coffee were touched by many before it made to the barista that made the beautiful piece of art in front of you. Have I mentioned that yet? Coffee is now literal artwork with those latte designs. It takes skill. So no wonder it's triple the cost of a plain cup of "regular" coffee.
Back to the coffee process. Here is a visual representation of everything that goes down:
If that's not already informative enough, let me remind you that coffee needs specific conditions in order to grow- in warm, typically subtropical climates. It can even take up to five years for a coffee plant to grow its fruit.
I had the opportunity to visit the Britt Coffee Plantation in Costa Rica and go on a tour to witness this process in action. It is truly very tiring work to gather the fruit that contains the coffee beans, as it is often hand-picked by laborers.
Because of the specific climate needed to cultivate quality coffee plants and the international popularity of coffee, it is often imported from around the world: Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Central and South America, and certain regions of Africa and Asia.
However, a current and growing trend is for coffee houses to roast their own beans and promote their own coffee sales without an additional "middleman." This is when it becomes expensive to buy coffee by the pound to make at home (sometimes even $20-30 for the house blend).
Another reason is that many times, specialty drinks are made with many other ingredients. The coffee shop that I frequently go to has different processes for making coffee (espresso, drip, pour-over) as well as drinks that include several different types of milk/milk alternatives, house-made syrups, and special ingredients, including lavender and rose water. Especially if you live in a college town and there are several coffee shops, having a signature drink can be a selling point that is just as important as the environment that is provided for the coffee drinkers.
Lastly, businesses need to profit. Often times, a customer will purchase just one cup of coffee per visit, but stay for at least an hour or two. A coffee shop may sell about 200 cups a day, which doesn't solely generate a lot of revenue. So when you think of it that way, the $5 you spent is really worth it.
The truth of the matter is that it's a trend and in a market-driven economy, businesses are supplying what the customers demand (though at increasingly steeper prices).
Truthfully, coffee just isn't what it used to be. Now, it's so much more.
What do you think about the costs of coffee? Worth it?
