Price of caffeine hit highest in Brisbane
Brisbane coffee lovers are paying dearly for their daily caffeine hit – the city has been named home to the most expensive cappuccino for the second year running in a survey of coffee prices in three capital cities.
Coffee drinkers in Brisbane are paying an average of $3.31 for a takeaway coffee and as much as $4.50 a cup, according to the annual Gilkatho Cappuccino Price Index (CPI) released this week by Brisbane-based coffee equipment supply company Gilkatho.
Sydney’s high cost of living did not translate in high coffee prices, with the city boasting the cheapest average cappuccino price ($3.06) compared to Brisbane and Melbourne.
Melbourne claimed the highest maximum price for a cappuccino at $5 a cup, but its average price for a cup of coffee of $3.22 was still cheaper than Brisbane.
Gilkatho Managing Director Wayne Fowler said more than 200 cafes were surveyed in each city to compile the CPI – with most of them located in CBD areas.
“The price has gone up by an average of 3% across all three cities while the Brisbane average was a 1.6% increase,” he said.
“This was not as big as the jump in 2009 of 5.4% across the three cities.”
“But if you compare it to the increase in the food and beverage industry last financial year of 1.4%, you could conclude that people are willing to pay more for a good cup of coffee than they are for other things.”
The most expensive coffee in Brisbane was found at two cafes in Bulimba and the CBD, and the lowest price ($1.80) was found in the CBD.
Gilkatho has been surveying coffee prices since 2002, when you could get a cappuccino in Brisbane for the average price of just $2.58 a cup.
The Gilkatho CPI found that more than 61 brands of coffee were offered in Brisbane, which highlights the fierce competition for buyer loyalty.
Mr Fowler said over the same period of time there had been a transformation in coffee machines that companies could install in the workplace, but serving up the same quality cappuccino only cost 35 cents a cup from your own machine.
Media enquiries:
Wayne Fowler, Gilkatho
Website: http://www.gilkatho.com.au/
Quick Facts
•The Cappuccino Price Index (CPI) has been conducted for the past eight years by Gilkatho, an Australian coffee supply company that provides automatic coffee equipment, coffee beans and technical services.
•The CPI surveys more than 600 cafés in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney.
•Gilkatho aggregates these figures to understand how the selling price of a cup of coffee is changing over time.
•The 2010 Cappuccino Price Index for Brisbane rose an average 1.6% in 2010, compared to the annual Consumer Price Index (food) of 1.4% for the year ending June 2010.
•According to international figures Australians will this year consume 2.7kg of coffee per person.
•Total imports of coffee into Australia have increased by 6.3% since 2008/09.
•The Gilkatho Cappuccino Price Index encapsulates all of the factors affecting the market, including rising international coffee prices, rising shop rents, labour costs and consumer spending habits.
•Apart from the cost of coffee beans, direct costs to cafés include rents, milk, staff wages and furniture/fittings. Other costs also include GST, takeway cups and lids, milk, sugar and stirrers.
Coffee drinkers in Brisbane are paying an average of $3.31 for a takeaway coffee and as much as $4.50 a cup, according to the annual Gilkatho Cappuccino Price Index (CPI) released this week by Brisbane-based coffee equipment supply company Gilkatho.
Sydney’s high cost of living did not translate in high coffee prices, with the city boasting the cheapest average cappuccino price ($3.06) compared to Brisbane and Melbourne.
Melbourne claimed the highest maximum price for a cappuccino at $5 a cup, but its average price for a cup of coffee of $3.22 was still cheaper than Brisbane.
Gilkatho Managing Director Wayne Fowler said more than 200 cafes were surveyed in each city to compile the CPI – with most of them located in CBD areas.
“The price has gone up by an average of 3% across all three cities while the Brisbane average was a 1.6% increase,” he said.
“This was not as big as the jump in 2009 of 5.4% across the three cities.”
“But if you compare it to the increase in the food and beverage industry last financial year of 1.4%, you could conclude that people are willing to pay more for a good cup of coffee than they are for other things.”
The most expensive coffee in Brisbane was found at two cafes in Bulimba and the CBD, and the lowest price ($1.80) was found in the CBD.
Gilkatho has been surveying coffee prices since 2002, when you could get a cappuccino in Brisbane for the average price of just $2.58 a cup.
The Gilkatho CPI found that more than 61 brands of coffee were offered in Brisbane, which highlights the fierce competition for buyer loyalty.
Mr Fowler said over the same period of time there had been a transformation in coffee machines that companies could install in the workplace, but serving up the same quality cappuccino only cost 35 cents a cup from your own machine.
Media enquiries:
Wayne Fowler, Gilkatho
Website: http://www.gilkatho.com.au/
Quick Facts
•The Cappuccino Price Index (CPI) has been conducted for the past eight years by Gilkatho, an Australian coffee supply company that provides automatic coffee equipment, coffee beans and technical services.
•The CPI surveys more than 600 cafés in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney.
•Gilkatho aggregates these figures to understand how the selling price of a cup of coffee is changing over time.
•The 2010 Cappuccino Price Index for Brisbane rose an average 1.6% in 2010, compared to the annual Consumer Price Index (food) of 1.4% for the year ending June 2010.
•According to international figures Australians will this year consume 2.7kg of coffee per person.
•Total imports of coffee into Australia have increased by 6.3% since 2008/09.
•The Gilkatho Cappuccino Price Index encapsulates all of the factors affecting the market, including rising international coffee prices, rising shop rents, labour costs and consumer spending habits.
•Apart from the cost of coffee beans, direct costs to cafés include rents, milk, staff wages and furniture/fittings. Other costs also include GST, takeway cups and lids, milk, sugar and stirrers.