Why is Specialty Coffee So Expensive?
I’ve been making coffee for people for about seven years. It’s my thing. But let me tell you, I’ve encountered my fair share of customers who for various reasons are baffled by the cost of a coffee at a specialty coffee shop — and who openly speak their mind about it. To me. While I prepare their order.
Honestly, it never offends me. I get it. If you don’t go out for coffee very often or you’re used to the price of a coffee at the McDonald’s drive thru, the price of a cup at your local specialty place could be jarring. Not to mention coffee prices are going up along with everything else.
But really, why is a cup of drip coffee $3 or $4 at that local specialty coffee shop? Why is the latte $5 or $6? There are more reasons than what I’m sharing today but let me give you a quick rundown.
Specialty Shops Feature High Grade Coffees
Without going into depth here on the ins and outs of commodity-grade coffee versus specialty grade coffees, it’s enough to say that specialty cafes often source their beans from among the best coffees in the world.
The Specialty Coffee Association, an international trade organization for coffee professionals, defines a specialty coffee as one that scores 80 points or higher on a 100-point quality scale. Coffee beans of this calibre often come from growers whose families have been invested in quality coffee production for generations. Their coffees are hand-picked at the moment of peak ripeness.
Hand-picking coffee when it’s best presents a unique challenge. Coffee cherries do not ripen all at the same time, not even on the same tree. To have hand-picked coffee means that the grower has paid labor costs for multiple rounds of hand-picking. The pickers are instructed to comb each tree for only the ripest cherries, leaving unripe cherries behind on the branch. Lower-grade crops that come in a lower wholesale price may be uniformly harvested regardless of ripeness.
Beyond picking, these specialtiy-grade coffees are then carefully processed to draw out their characteristic flavors. Coffees resulting from this level of care are flavorful and refined with a smooth finish. Which is why they come with a higher price tag.
Specialty Shops Favor Ethically Sourced Coffee
Did you know that many coffee farmers earn less than a $1 per pound for the coffee they grow? That’s an average of 7–10% of what your bagged coffee costs off the retail shelf. The folks who grow your coffee often earn a wage below the poverty line in their respective countries.
In fact, coffee growers are facing a coffee price crisis. International demand for coffee is high, but standard wholesale coffee prices are all-too-often insufficient for coffee farmers to make a sustainable profit. If growers can’t afford to keep producing coffee, they’re forced to abandon the industry to look for more sustainable incomes.
Coffee shops that fall within the specialty coffee spectrum tend to carry a big-picture view of the coffee industry. They want to continue to be able to source excellent coffees. And they want the producers who grow great coffees to make a quality, sustainable living from what they do. This means they’re willing to commit to higher wholesale coffee prices. Although this means they serve a pricier cup for the customer, it also means better compensation for the folks who grew that coffee.
Specialty Coffee Equipment is Expensive
Have you ever done a quick search for what it would cost to buy your own commercial-grade espresso machine? No, I’m not talking about your cute off-brand Amazon home espresso machine. I’m talking about something like this triple group head LaMarzocco Linea Classic which you might see in your local coffee shop. Espresso machines of this caliber go for around $20,000.
You can’t operate a specialty coffee shop with only an espresso machine. You also need quality espresso grinders, a hot water tower, water softeners and filters, a commercial-sized auto drip brewer, bar refrigerators, and ice machines. A good bar setup is a formidable start-up investement. And once everything is installed, you can expect to pay for regular maintenance on pretty much all of them.
Suffice to say, that beautiful bar equipment setup at your favorite specialty coffee shop is an investment they’re paying off one latte at a time.
Keeping Skilled Baristas is More Expensive
Over the years, I’ve noticed an assumption that people make, which is that barista work doesn’t require much skill. But coffeemaking is a lot like cooking. Sure, almost anyone can cook — but how many people do you know that can really cook? Like cooking as art form?
In just the same way, you could say almost anyone can make coffee. But a truly skilled barista can create a superior cup of coffee. They elevate coffee-making into the realm of “craft.”
A seasoned barista is comfortable with a variety of different coffee origins, blends, roasts, brewing methods, and equipment. They know all the drink recipes on the menu — and probably even came up with a few of them. On the bar, they have a steady eye on espresso quality and consistent milk texturing — and can rapidly turn out orders against the backdrop of a busy cafe workflow. They may even do this while holding a full conversation with you.
Because of all the nuance involved, it is more expensive to train new employees for these specialty coffee positions. And once they’re trained, the cafe that wants to keep them will offer a wage that allows them to keep working there long-term.
Final Thoughts
I’ve offered you a handful of reasons why that cup of specialty coffee costs what it does. Truthfully, coffee is so familiar to us that I think we forget that it’s a luxury. What’s in your cup is the culmination of such a long journey: from seed to harvest, from green to roasted, from roasted bean to latte. Doing all that — and not just getting it done, but doing it with excellence — is more expensive for everyone involved. But the outcome is downright incredible.
