Baku cafe customers say coffee is taking a larger share of their budgets, with the final price reflecting far more than the cost of the beans.
In a television report on rising coffee prices, residents said they increasingly compare menus or prepare drinks at home. One respondent said a cafe visit costs him at least 10 manats. That was his personal spending example, not an established average price for a cup of coffee.
From Coffee Bean to Cafe Table
Coffee passes through several stages before reaching a customer, including cultivation, harvesting, processing, transportation and preparation. Cafes buy beans from countries including Brazil and Colombia, and the origin and variety can affect the cost.
Rent, staff pay, taxes and other operating expenses are added to the price of the product. A cafe’s positioning also matters because customers pay not only for the drink but also for service and the space where it is served.
Menu items cannot be compared directly. An espresso, a large cappuccino and a drink made with syrups differ in size, recipe and production cost. Extra ingredients raise the final price.
Takeaway and Table Service Carry Different Costs
Takeaway-focused cafes can have lower operating costs because they do not provide table service, potentially allowing them to charge less. The actual price, however, depends on each business’s policies.
The complaints in the television report reflect the experiences of individual customers. It did not include a marketwide price study that would establish the average increase across all Baku cafes. Still, even a small increase can become a noticeable monthly expense for regular customers.
Illustrative photo: Nam Quach / Unsplash.
Source: Vesti Baku.