Dig deep for coffee
2012
Looking for an early morning coffee before work? Don’t forget to take your wallet because they aren’t exactly giving this stuff away. A recent survey uncovered a few rip-off prices around Brisbane outlets. Prices ranged from a whopping $5.00 for a standard 250ml cappuccino down to a reasonable $3.30.
One Queensland chain, the Shingle Inn, charges 50¢ more for a cafe latte pulled in Brisbane than it does in Sydney. And it’s cappuccino prices are 30¢ higher in Brisbane than in Sydney. I’m not sure whether Sydney being the ‘gay capital’ has any bearing on coffee prices, but there you have it.
According to the Gilkatho Cappuccino Price Index, the honour for the most expensive cup of coffee goes to Perth. The report, tracking an industry worth more than $10 billion, says the average cappuccino costs $3.48 (dine-in) in Brisbane compared to $3.74 in Perth. Here are some differing prices around Brisbane City.
At Starbucks, Queens Plaza: cappuccino or latte $3.50
Aromas, Brisbane Airport: cappuccino or lattee $3.90
Coffee and Chocolate, City: cappuccino or latte $4.30
McDonalds, Brisbane City: cappuccino or latte $2.95
Gloria Jeans, Sth Brisbane: cappuccino or latte $3.75
Coffee bean prices have dipped from their record highs recently but only a small percentage of the cappuccino or latte’s purchase price is for coffee beans, with the rest going on overheads. A $28.80 1kg bag of coffee will produce 120 shots, which works out at 24¢ per shot of coffee. The rest of the cost is attributible to rent, labour, milk and incidentals like cups. But when we do the maths, 120 shots of coffee at the average price of $3.48 works out to $417.60. Don’t tell me there’s not a tidy profit there.
The word is that staff are the biggest expense, and a good barista could expect to be paid more than $25.00 per hour. Apparently, some Sydney cafes are prepared to pay a finders’ fee of $1500.00 to secure coffee-making talent.
The owner of Jeremy’s Bistro in Albert St, Brisbane City, attempts to cover his rather exorbitant pricing with this little humdinger. His $5.00 price for a cappuccino or latte at his CBD venue reflects it’s status as a restaurant, not a coffee shop. “We don’t want to attract coffee customers”, he said. At those prices he won’t have a problem.
