Bag of Chips. Price increase.

Even the more specialist places are mostly below €3.00 (e.g. Coffee Angel and Network, both at €2.90) for an Americano, so if you're paying €3-€3.25 it's defintely on the high side.
 
Colin Harmon of 3FE recently circulated a breakdown of the component costs of a EUR 3.50 cup coffee. In summary, the profit per cup was shown as 26 cent. It's on his Twitter account, [at]dublinbarista.

I like a cup of freshly made coffee and choose to pay EUR 2.50 to 3.00 for an Americano. I also like having money in my bank account so buy less of the above than I was a year ago. I bring a small cafetiere and bag of ground coffee to work with me. The cafetiere has paid for itself at this stage, with the savings from not popping out to a coffee shop. The bag of ground coffee costs less than a fiver and I get at least 5 working days out of it.
 
I had my coffee today as usual but did not have the scone, total is just too much! I'll probably be better off without the calories anyway. Out of curiosity I looked at the prices of an americano, 2.70 for reg, 3.10 for large.

My cappucino was 3.10 and ironically I got back the wrong change, I got a euro too much. I handed in a fiver and just put the change in my back pocket, when I took it out at home I noticed it was too much, I feel better now over having been stung for the unexpected recent increase of .50 the other day.
 
Walking past the Bear Market coffee shop in Blackrock yesterday I see that it was packed as usual. I think if people have to spend €3.50+ for a cup of coffee now, they are going to ensure that they get something other than what the big chains are dishing out.
 
Those Fintech apps where you can invest your change from things like coffees in low-cost ETFs seem like a great idea.

I saw one advertised recently and have heard people discussing them.

e.g. I buy a coffee or a pint and push a button to round it up to (say) €4 or €5 or €10, with the excess invested in cheap Vanguard ETFs.

Seems like a smart counterbalance to the “do you realise you spend €1,500 a year on coffees?”.
 
Walking past the Bear Market coffee shop in Blackrock yesterday I see that it was packed as usual. I think if people have to spend €3.50+ for a cup of coffee now, they are going to ensure that they get something other than what the big chains are dishing out.

Not sure why people believe that the coffee of some random "artisan" coffee shop is somehow superior to what comes from a big chain. You might prefer (or not) a certain type of roast, but making coffee is normally not rocket surgery.
For example, I don't usually buy coffee from insomnia as for me it is too bitter. Some acquaintances prefer that taste.
I personally like Cafe Nero coffee and would get my coffee there rather than go to Kaph (to use a "artisan" coffee shop example) for my regular fix.
 
Not sure why people believe that the coffee of some random "artisan" coffee shop is somehow superior to what comes from a big chain. You might prefer (or not) a certain type of roast, but making coffee is normally not rocket surgery.
For example, I don't usually buy coffee from insomnia as for me it is too bitter. Some acquaintances prefer that taste.
I personally like Cafe Nero coffee and would get my coffee there rather than go to Kaph (to use a "artisan" coffee shop example) for my regular fix.
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Yeah I agree. I don't like Starbucks or how they operate but their coffee is not worse than the small independent shops. I agree about Café Nero. There is a certain level of misplaced snobbery creeping into coffee just like it has with beers as well.
 
Not sure why people believe that the coffee of some random "artisan" coffee shop is somehow superior to what comes from a big chain. You might prefer (or not) a certain type of roast, but making coffee is normally not rocket surgery.
For example, I don't usually buy coffee from insomnia as for me it is too bitter. Some acquaintances prefer that taste.
I personally like Cafe Nero coffee and would get my coffee there rather than go to Kaph (to use a "artisan" coffee shop example) for my regular fix.

does it not depend on what you like? i dislike starbucks coffee personally, bear and maia in ballsbridge are my two favourite spots, not because they are artisan, because they taste better to me.
 
The bag of chips has turned into the cup of coffee. How did that happen? Anyway, what you pay for both is, I repeat, pure EXTORTION.
 
Walking past the Bear Market coffee shop in Blackrock yesterday I see that it was packed as usual. I think if people have to spend €3.50+ for a cup of coffee now, they are going to ensure that they get something other than what the big chains are dishing out.

For the record, Bear Market charge €3.40 for a Latte or similar (at least they do on Pembroke St., maybe Blackrock's more expensive?). They are one of the most expensive places at that. I did a survey of 15 different places last week, the average for a standard sized Latte was €3.21. The only places I know charging more than €3.50 are the larger sizes as served by the large chains, though I have heard 3FE are charging more too.
 
I drink a lot of coffee, every morning I put the coffee machine on and make a pot for the day
I'll have two 20floz mugs for breakfast and one for lunch and if Mrs Cervelo hasn't drunk the rest I might have another after dinner
I don't buy expensive coffee, I use the Lidl gold for €3.99/500grms and twice a year Lidl will put in on sale for €1.99
For my tastes (black coffee) I think its a good cup of coffee and people who have drank it generally say its a nice cup of coffee

I personally think Starbucks is one of the worst tasting coffees out there, Insomnia is more to my taste and I can't really speak of the independents
Most of the times that I would order coffee in a restaurant I don't finish it for one reason or another usually its down to taste
But there is one place that always serves a great cup of coffee not only here but all over the world and that is McDonalds
And in America the last two times I was there, its one dollar for any size coffee with a free refill
 
The bag of chips has turned into the cup of coffee. How did that happen? Anyway, what you pay for both is, I repeat, pure EXTORTION.

Both cups of coffee and bags of chips were mentioned in the original posts.

It's not extortion: nobody's forcing anyone to pay anything. It may be your opinion it's very expensive, but that's something entirely subjective.

The evidence is that the price reflects the costs of providing it, unless you believe a typical net margin of 5% or less is excessive.
 
Yeah I agree. I don't like Starbucks or how they operate but their coffee is not worse than the small independent shops. I agree about Café Nero. There is a certain level of misplaced snobbery creeping into coffee just like it has with beers as well.
It's all down to taste. I wouldn't presume to say which is "better", but I found that once I'd tried it, I would find it very hard to go back to the likes of Starbucks/Caffe Nero/Insomnia and the like. For anyone who hasn't had a coffee from one of the independents, I'd recommend you at least try a couple. With one or two notable exceptions, they're not that much more expensive, if at all.

I would agree with your comment on misplaced snobbery: some places do themselves no favours in winning new business by their attitude to customers who don’t fit their desired profile. This includes one of the places mentioned elsewhere in this thread: they make you feel like they’re doing you a favour by serving you. A pity, as their coffee is excellent.
 
I personally think Starbucks is one of the worst tasting coffees out there, Insomnia is more to my taste and I can't really speak of the independents
You should try some: you obviously care about the taste, and I think you'd be pleasantly surprised. I used to think Insomnia great, but after switching I found it incredibly bitter and lacking real taste.
Most of the times that I would order coffee in a restaurant I don't finish it for one reason or another usually its down to taste
Although it's changing a bit now, I have to say I agree with you. It's strange, as it's usually the last thing you have so tends to distort your overall view of a place; you would think they'd put a bit more effort in.
But there is one place that always serves a great cup of coffee not only here but all over the world and that is McDonalds
And in America the last two times I was there, its one dollar for any size coffee with a free refill
They do indeed have surprisingly good coffee compared to their peers. I've heard they put a lot of effort into making it so.
 
Anyway, what you pay for both is, I repeat, pure EXTORTION.

They are extortion only in exactly the same way every other goods and services are. Or are there categories of goods that you don't consider extortionately priced?
 
I don't like Starbucks or how they operate but their coffee is not worse than the small independent shops.

Yes, and No ;)

Starbucks are an easy target for many reasons such as their size, pincer tactics, constant upsizing/upselling, asking for your name. If their coffee was consistently good, I would not care about the other aspects, but they fail that standard.

I tick a lot of boxes when it comes to coffee snobbery, but am often happen to go with what's convenient. The last time I had a cup in Starbucks, it was literally devoid of taste. I might as well have being drinking warm water with colouring.
 
Yes, and No ;)

Starbucks are an easy target for many reasons such as their size, pincer tactics, constant upsizing/upselling, asking for your name. If their coffee was consistently good, I would not care about the other aspects, but they fail that standard.

I tick a lot of boxes when it comes to coffee snobbery, but am often happen to go with what's convenient. The last time I had a cup in Starbucks, it was literally devoid of taste. I might as well have being drinking warm water with colouring.

I don't like Starbucks. I don't like the layout of their shops. I don't like their food. I don't like the way for they ask for names and the fake American politeness. I don't like how they spring up everywhere. I don't like how they make a mockery of planning laws. I don't even like their coffee much BUT their normal size black coffee (No idea why anyone orders large coffees) is not the muck water that people say it is. Like it or not, you don't become the size of Starbucks selling coffee devoid of taste. You might not like the taste which is fair enough but the amount of people who turn their noses up at the idea of grabbing a coffee from Starbucks or Café Nero instead of one of the independents continues to astound me. It's like when in some bars you order a pint of Heineken rather than a craft beer produced in the mountain region of South East Asia and transported using elephants and canoes....... Seeing the same thing now with Nespresso machines. Now that they mainstream, they are not good enough for many coffee drinkers. Now the coffee beans need to be digested and passed through a monkey before being hand harvested.......
 
I bring a small cafetiere and bag of ground coffee to work with me. The cafetiere has paid for itself at this stage, with the savings from not popping out to a coffee shop. The bag of ground coffee costs less than a fiver and I get at least 5 working days out of it.

Same here. Lavazza is my poison of choice - a fiver in Tesco but sometimes they reduce it to 3.50 and I fill the basket!

Using a cafetiere at the moment also as the seal finally went on my Aeropress after at least 1,000 cups.
 
My cappucino was 3.10 and ironically I got back the wrong change, I got a euro too much. I handed in a fiver and just put the change in my back pocket, when I took it out at home I noticed it was too much, I feel better now over having been stung for the unexpected recent increase of .50 the other day.

Would you really deprive yourself of your little treat over 50c? It's really not that much. And given the minimum wage went up 25c an hour (which would apply to most staff in a cafe) and VAT went up too, these are really increases in running costs that are being passed on to customers.
 
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