The Great Christmas Coffee Rip-Off – CoffeeTalk

The festive season has become a time for coffee shops to change their menus, offering a wide range of over-sweetened, over-caffeinated, and severely overpriced Christmas coffee options. This has led to an increase in the price of traditional coffee drinks, with some places charging up to £4.40 for a caramelised almond or a maple pecan latte, while others charge £3.80 for a regular latte.

The same liberties are being taken across the board, with Costa London prices for a small gingerbread and cream latte being £4.50, while a normal latte is £3.80. Customers can also customize their beverage at Costa by paying 60p for a single pump of syrup and an additional 60p for cream. Starbucks, however, has one of the biggest differences in prices, with a short eggnog latte for £4.65 versus a regular short latte for £3.20.

These indulgent drinks have a pricing rationale, as they will be based on a cost-plus basis. Jeffrey Young, CEO and founder of the Allegra Group, explains that these drinks have more ingredients going into them and presumably take longer to make, so it makes sense they’re going to be more expensive. However, paying close to £5 for a single hot drink – not even in a large size! – is absurd. The prices reflect a wider normalisation of paying significantly high costs for takeaway coffee, particularly if you live in London and if your drink is Christmas-themed or otherwise.

At Gails, a regular mocha costs £4.50, while Black Sheep Coffee branches offer a blueberry matcha latte for £4.79, a large would be £5.19. A regular-sized gingerbread latte is £5.29, which comes with whipped cream and Biscoff crumbs. This is almost double what you’d pay for a 227g bag of ground coffee that could make copious cups at home.

If you were to take your purchasing one step further, buying a Christmas sandwich alongside your hot drink would be looking at a bill that’s well over £10. Christmas presents a chance for coffee operators to make some higher margins while people are celebrating, so they’re commercial in their approach.

However, this may sting a little more now than it used to. The cost of living crisis is raging into this winter, rents are skyrocketing across the UK, and salaries are plateauing in many industries. What’s even worse is that it’s already the most expensive time of year, with buying presents, getting to and from various Christmas parties, and possibly spending money on things to wear to them.

My advice is to skip the Christmas drinks this year, as they’re far too sweet and sickly, and your money will almost certainly be better spent elsewhere. If you really must get your fix, you can buy your own bottle of gingerbread syrup at most supermarkets for under £5 and dispense it at your discretion. Bah humbug.

Read More @ The Independent