The Big Coffee Index – Global Price Survey

As we travel and have the opportunity to see the World, thanks to coffee, all the while, simultaneously we get to see the World of coffee, we’re constantly amazed by localized approaches and varying appreciation coffee receives.

Currently writing this from the Narita Airport in Tokyo, as we prepare to board a sequence of flights that will land us in the United Arab Emirates. As a couple of Canadians, it’s so fascinating to see such the variance in the appreciation and culture between each of these three geographic regions.

One thing that’s fascinating is the service standards and differing definitions of hospitality; however, we’ll save that for another day. I will mention, we’re coming off a pretty amazing couple of days with back-to-back pop-up events, serving and sharing a list of Panamanian coffees from Rosso, here in Tokyo, including Best of Panama and Private Auction lots. To see the reactions on clients faces when they smell the grinds, capture the aroma of the fresh brew or try their first sip, is a truly warming experience for us to witness the level of Japanese appreciation.

Today, we would like to focus in on pricing. We’re not going to talk about the C-Market (which is currently at a record high, as of writing this) we’ll save that for another day, we’re also not going to talk about the BOP or COE or Auction coffees. Those will be saved for future writing, and can be referenced in past issues as well.

Have you ever heard of the “Big Mac Index”? This was created by The Economist to survey the global landscape to see how prices range across the World for a consistent item such as the infamous, Mcdonald’s Big Mac. It gives indication to local economic conditions, strength of currency, and purchase power parity. “At $8.07 USD, Switzerland has the most expensive Big Macs in the World, with Venezuela being the lowest at $2.46, and the USA being $5.69 (average among all states)”

There is another index that was created by The Economist, “The Tall Latte Index”, which measures the price of a Starbucks Tall Latte across the World. In this case, Switzerland again tops the charts, at $7.17 USD, with Turkey being the most affordable at $1.31 and the USA being $3.76 USD.

We’re curious to know the data as we believe the our home-market is amongst the lowest priced specialty coffee markets in the World. The average specialty coffee shop in the Canadian market sells a 340g bag of beans around $13.75 USD ($20 CAD) with a double espresso served in a cafe around $2.50, a 12oz drip around $2.50 and a 12oz latte around $3.75. In our experience of Japan, you can expect to double the price and shrink the cup size by 50%. In Dubai, similar cup sizes with 50% higher prices.

We’d like to zoom in on general specialty coffee prices and see if we can lean into the community to create a public data bank, or “Big Coffee Index”. We’ll post this same form on our social media channels and will make all the data public.

The plan is to use Espresso, Drip and Latte as the standard metrics within a cafe. Of course, there will be differences in the recipe, the preparation standards, the cost of goods, the cost of labour, the cost of logistics, localized taxes, rent, and any other of the compounding business expenses… you get the point.

This form asks a series of questions, with just a few of them necessary to answer to submit, though the more detail given, the stronger the overall picture of data. You can submit just one of the three beverages in the survey + if you’d like to share more, we’ve included an option for a full menu photo.

The reason why we’d like to do this, is to better understand the global market. What should a cup of coffee cost? How do different markets go about their cost formula? Will Switzerland be the most expensive, based on the Big Mac and the Tall Latte Index? Should your market look to increase prices, based on what’s happening in other regions nearby to you? With so much turmoil in the market, we figured this could be a great way to study the Global approach and see how your business or your favourite shop prices stacks up against the rest.

Here’s a link to the Big Coffee Index

Reading: Here’s a piece on the Big Mac Index, that breaks down how it works, it’s flaws and it’s opportunities, as well as the purpose behind seeing the numbers.

Watching: On the subject of Big Macs, have you ever seen the documentary, Super Size Me?

Listening: One of our favourite music channels, My Analog Journal, grooving out to Salsa Records – bringing some bright and groovy vibes to your week.

Brewing: This last week we’ve been brewing a menu of incredible coffees and as mentioned we had two dynamite pop up events in Tokyo, showcasing Rosso Coffee. The highlight coffee and most ordered cup on the menu was Hacienda La Esmeralda ‘Gigante’ Geisha Washed – imagine a familiar, floral perfume that makes you reminisce of a perfect smile, the moment it’s ground the fragrance draws you right in as if nothing else is present. An aura radiates, fully capturing the moment and time begins to move slowly. The cup itself benefits from quiet space, to sit, sip and savour, feeling the elegance of the texture – luscious, warming, silky – with a dancing vibrant citrus acidity contrasting a stoic, sweet, taste of coffee-blossom honey. As the cup cools, it’s pure elegance, leaving a sweet familiar, floral memory, a glimpse of a perfect smile.

^ this coffee was sold for ¥7800 ($50 USD) per 200mL brew. This is an example of the type of appreciation we see for coffees in a market such as Tokyo and many other regions in the Asian market. This coffee is rare, comes from a very small, relatively new area of production for Hacienda La Esmeralda, and it’s of an exceptional quality, which people are willing to explore and appreciate to it’s fullest. Though as coffee professionals, we can’t just provide poetic justice – our true goal is justice of flavour expression in the cup.

For anyone reading the price and thinking “that’s so expensive”, this was our 4th highest price point on a menu of 13 rare coffees. Each price point / coffee sold multiple cups with the highest price being BOP GW-02 Finca Sophia ‘Olympus’ for ¥25000

Popup with a full view roastery behind our brewing set up, ample space to connect and converse with clients in the “living room” of this cafe and share wonderful coffee.

respond with a photo of your brew bar or get creative with an AI generated scene and we’ll feature and share in an upcoming week of BTD

Distance: Buy the Drip run club. Clocking some kilometers. We’re casual, we’re fun, we’re just out for a run. For us, running has become an easy outlet when on the road, to ensure we’re getting exercise, to get out and explore the city and to simply breath some fresh air and headspace.

Let’s connect on Strava!