=
Do you drink milk with your coffee?
It’s no secret that we Kiwis love our coffee. New Zealand places among the top 20 countries worldwide regarding our coffee consumption rate. Coffee culture plays a significant role in our daily lives. However, many Kiwis are now doing a double-take when buying coffee. The great question is, ‘how did this become so expensive?’
Believe it or not, the issue concerning the cost of coffee is far greater than your local cafe raising the price to make a few extra dollars; coffee itself is at the centre of an inflation crisis. You may ask, how is that possible?
Here are the facts.
Each coffee begins with the primary essential ingredient that gives us our caffeine kick, coffee beans. Kiwis pride themselves on good coffee, so each local cafe owner strives to obtain the best coffee beans to please their customers. For many, arabica coffee beans are the popular choice. However, with climate change and unpredictable weather that affects the world presently, droughts and frosts have desecrated much of the arabica coffee crop so highly demanded. In short, the price margin for your basic coffee bean has significantly inflated. This supply shortage then increases the costs to obtain the ingredient itself, afflicting our local cafes.
Secondly, to make a cup of hot coffee, we need a reliable and efficient energy supply to create that heat. Heat production relies on oil, the cost of which has increased since the outbreak of the Russia and Ukraine crisis. Our trusty, reliable heat sourcing now costs our local cafe much more with the world boycotting Russian oil.
Do you drink milk with your coffee? Unfortunately, we have to report that the cost of farmgate milk has increased by an estimated 33% in New Zealand. With COVID slowing our economy down and the labour needed to produce it, milk is also at the centre of an inflation crisis.
So what can we do to ease the burdens for our local cafe as customers?
Remember, our cafe owners don’t enjoy paying extra expenses during periods of inflation as equally as having to charge even more money for your cup of coffee. It is periods of inflation that mean both customers and retailers need to support each other. As customers, covering the extra few dollars needed to cover inflation costs and help our local cafe owners, that assistance is vital. Let us all have a little empathy for small business owners. More effort and costs go into making our beloved beverage than we think.