A recent study looking at the average price of coffee around the world has found that the best value cup is found in Rio de Janeiro, while Geneva in Switzerland is the most expensive.
The 2016 Coffee Price Index, which was put together by Service Partner One, took into account 75 cities from 36 countries across the globe.
To create the ranking, the research team averaged the cost of four separate types of coffee: a cup of coffee in an office, a Grande Latte from Starbucks, a medium cappuccino from an independent coffee shop, and a cup of coffee at home. The research looked into costs of coffee from various sources, not just high street outlets, in order to get a clearer picture of the overall value of coffee in each city.
Rio de Janeiro’s coffee was the most affordable, with an average of US$1.02 ($1.38), whereas Zurich came in as the most expensive city overall, at an average of US$3.52 ($4.76).
Sydney came in at 28th position, with an average US$1.89 ($2.56).
The Index found the price of coffee within the home and office doesn’t vary much between cities within a country. However, the price of coffee in independent cafés made one of the largest differences to the overall average cost.
For instance, in Germany the cost of a home and office coffee, along with a Starbucks Grande Latte, were found to be the same in Leipzig and Frankfurt. However, the cost of a medium cappuccino in an independent café in Leipzig was found to be US$2.90 ($3.90), while the average price of a medium cappuccino in an independent cafe in Frankfurt is US$3.80 ($5.15), an approximate a 30 per cent increase in price between the two cities. Leipzig’s overall average coffee cost is US$1.93 ($2.60), placing it in 30th position, whilst Frankfurt’s overall average coffee cost is US$2.15 ($2.90), placing it in position 47.
Starbucks was selected as a factor in the Index as it is the most widely available premium priced coffee chain the world over, and as such offers an interesting economic barometer between countries. The difference in price of a Grande Latte, ranged from US$1.45 ($1.95) in Rio de Janeiro to US$6.89 ($9.33) in Zurich, nearly a 400 per cent difference.
Further findings from the ranking included the fact that the cities with the most affordable office and home coffee are Kuala Lumpur and Bandar Seri Beg, where an average cup costs an office 11 cents, or 9 cents at home.
The city with the most expensive office and home coffee is Jakarta at an average of 87 cents a cup in an office, or 72 cents at home.
The city with the most affordable independent coffee shops is Bogota where a cup of cappuccino is priced at an average of US$1.64 ($2.20)
The city with the most expensive independent coffee shops is Copenhagen with an average of US$6.53 ($8.84) for a cappuccino.
