The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Saying business productivity is often tied with the daily caffeine fix of employees, the Berlin-based online office supply company Service Partner ONE has released the 2016 Coffee Price Index, detailing which cities offer the best value coffee worldwide. The research, which took into account 75 cities from 36 countries across the globe, found that Rio de Janeiro in Brazil offers the least expensive average coffee price, while Zurich, Switzerland, has the most expensive brew.
Service Partner ONE said that being one of the major coffee distributors to European workplaces, it understood the importance of coffee in business and lifestyle.
The company undertook the research to better understand the global economics behind coffee across different markets, it said in a statement.
Manila placed 10th in the ranking, with an average coffee cost of $1.69 (P81.12) per cup at an exchange rate of P48/$1.
This compares to Zurich, which came in as the most expensive city overall, at an average of $3.52 (P168.96) per cup and Rio de Janeiro where coffee was the most affordable, with an average of $1.02 (P48.96) a cup.
The study also revealed that Filipinos drink an average of 1.2 kilograms (kg) of coffee per capita, per year.
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 looks 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.
The study revealed overall that the 10 most affordable cities for coffee are:
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, $1.02 (P48.96); Sao Paulo, Brazil, $1.03 (P49.44); Lima, Peru, $1.43 (P68.64); Milan, Italy, $1.54 (P73.92); Seville, Spain, $1.55 (P74.40); Hanoi, Vietnam, $1.56 (P74.88); Valencia, Spain, $1.60 (P76.80); Guatemala City, Guatemala, $1.62 (P77.76); Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, $1.67 (P80.16); and Manila, Philippines, $1.69 (P81.12).
The five most expensive cities for coffee are: Geneva, Switzerland, $3.06 (P146.88); Bern, Switzerland, $3.13 (P150.24); Basel, Switzerland, $3.26 (P156.48); Copenhagen, Denmark, $3.27 (P156.96); and Zurich, Switzerland, $3.52 (P168.96).
The research showed that the price of coffee in the home and in the office doesn’t vary much between cities within a country.
However, the price of coffee in independent cafes made one of the largest differences to the overall average cost.
In Germany, for instance, 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 cafe in Leipzig was found to be $2.90 (P139.20), while the average price of a medium cappuccino in an independent cafe in Frankfurt is $3.80 (P182.40), an approximate 30-percent increase in price between the two cities.
Leipzig’s overall average coffee cost is $1.93 (P92.64), placing it in 30th position, while Frankfurt’s overall average coffee cost is $2.15 (P103.20), 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 economic barometer between countries.
The difference in price of a Grande Latte, ranged from $1.45 (P69.60) in Rio de Janeiro to $6.89 (P330.72) in Zurich, nearly a 400-percent price increase.
“Coffee is the fuel of every office, it is not only part of our culture, it is a culture. Whether you’re sitting down with an old friend, enjoying a cup with your spouse, or taking a break with your colleagues, coffee brings us together and motivates us,” Sven Hock, CEO of Service Partner ONE, said.
Other findings from the study include cities with the most affordable office and home coffee are Kuala Lumpur and Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei Darrusalam, where an average cup costs an office 11 cents (P5.28), or 9 cents (P4.32) at home.
The city with the most expensive office and home coffee is Jakarta at an average of 87 cents (P41.76) a cup in an office, or 72 cents (P34.56) at home.
The city with the most affordable independent coffee shops is Bogota, Colombia, where a cup of cappuccino is priced at an average of $1.64 (P78.72).
The city with the most expensive independent coffee shops is Copenhagen, Denmark, with an average of $6.53 (P313.44) for a cappuccino.