Before The Markup, Here's How Much A Cup Of Coffee Actually Costs
HuffPost
Once consumers understand what goes into brewing a cup of coffee, maybe people wouldn’t shy away from paying more.
If the cost of a cup of coffee from your favorite coffee shop seems high, you’re not wrong. But once you understand the math, you’ll find there’s a good reason for it.
According to Toast, which analyzes restaurant industry trends, in the first quarter of 2024 customers paid on average $3.08 for a cup of regular coffee, $5.14 for cold brew and $5.46 for a latte (prices vary in different states — Hawaii and California have the highest prices). Starbucks asks as much as $8 for an airport cold brew.
It’s not just the big cities and chains charging above-average prices for coffee, either: roaster Fretboard Coffee, in Columbia, Missouri, charges $7 for a cup of nitro (down the street, Acola Coffee Company charges $5 for nitro), and First District Cafe in Covington, Kentucky, charges $6 for a cup of cold brew. (On the flip side, the 7-Eleven at the Dallas Fort Worth airport charges $1.50 for a cup of creamy and delicious nitro coffee.)
What gives? How do coffee shops get away with charging customers so much? Once consumers understand what goes into brewing a cup of coffee, maybe people wouldn’t shy away from paying more.
“Cold brew is one of the worst margins for a coffee house in general,” Heather Perry, CEO of the California-based roaster Klatch Coffee, told HuffPost. “Cold brew is one of our most expensive items. It’s the item that’s consistently underpriced, but everything else makes sense from a business perspective.” Klatch charges $5.50 for a cup of cold brew.
