- Rob from Monies, a café in Putney, London, broke down the cost of a coffee
- READ MORE: Mayfair barista is selling Britain's most expensive brew using beans from Japan's 'island of eternal youth'
A coffee shop owner has broken down the cost of making a coffee, revealing why prices can often exceed £3.50 these days.
A content creator, who goes by @jazlifts_ on TikTok, 25, took to a coffee shop in London, to question its owner on the rising costs of hot beverages.
Talking to Rob from a café called Monies in East Putney, Jaz learned that the average cost of making a coffee can be as little as 70p.
However, Monies charges £3.50 for a regular coffee, meaning a discrepancy of £2.80. However, Rob explained that there is good reason for the higher price tag.
Jaz said: 'It's easy to gasp at prices these days and assume the owners behind the business are making [money] on your coffee, but it isn't all as easy or profitable as it often looks from the outside, it's b***** hard work!'
Coffee shop owner Rob (pictured) from Monies in East Putney broke down the cost of a coffee in conversation with London-based content creator and gym owner Jaz, 25
Taking to TikTok, Jaz said: 'Have you ever got your morning coffee and wondered: "Why in the h*** is this costing me £4?"
'Well, today I'm talking to Rob for Monies in Putney to find out how many coffees a shop like his needs to sell to stay open.'
Rob said: 'It doesn't cost that much to make to a coffee, probably about 70p-80p by the time you've paid for the beans, milk, and the cups. But then, you've got the staff costs [and] the rent.
'So, when you're starting, you're not selling enough coffees, you're maybe not making any money for a while until you get to that level.'
Talking to FEMAIL, Rob provided a detailed breakdown of costs. He explained that the coffee costs 40p to make, the cup and lid is 10p, and 20p is spent on milk.
Monies charges £3.50 for a coffee; but 60p of that is VAT. This leaves them with £2.20, which also goes towards variable costs including electricity and rent.
When Jaz asked how many coffees the café would be required to sell to break even, Rob said: If you we're just doing coffee, a small shop like this, you'd need to be doing at least 200-250.'
Rob added: 'As soon as you can get to 300 plus, then you're starting to make a bit of money.
Rob explained that the cost of a coffee can be as little as 70p, but there's good reason why a cappuccino or latte can cost £3.50
'Although you can go to a coffee shop and see people sat on every seat; it looks busy, but on the weekend it's £7 to £8 per transaction, in the week it's more like £6.' Rob added: 'So you've just got to be doing a massive volume of coffee.'
Rob explained that while he's always loved coffee, he threw himself in 'the deep end' by opening up a coffee shop.
He said: 'I've nearly been open for three years now. I did quite a bit myself in terms of the shop fit and stuff, but I would probably say [to open it cost] about £100,000.
'I had an ice cream brand down in Cornwall. I sold my share, so I had a bit of cash to put into another business.
He said: 'I've nearly been open for three years now. I did quite a bit myself in terms of the shop fit and stuff, but I would probably say [to open it cost] about £100,000.
'I obviously love coffee, love going to coffee shops in London, [and I] threw myself in the deep end with it.
Monies sells single origin beans from Cornish roasters Yallah and is described on its website as: 'Specialty coffee bar in the heart of East Putney with Cornish roots, a love of art and passion for buying local.'
Jaz explained in the caption: 'The aim of this series is to shine a little light on exactly this and above all, give you more reasons to support these amazing small local businesses'.
It comes after the news that a cost of hot drinks is set to surge, with coffee and tea prices spiralling on global markets.
Wholesale coffee prices are up by more than 20 per cent since January after crops were hit by extreme weather in key producing countries, including Vietnam and Brazil.
Tea costs have jumped by 34 per cent in the past month alone due to rising industry costs and the Red Sea crisis affecting container ship movements.
UK coffee shops rely on robusta and arabica beans for the millions of americanos, lattes and cappuccinos they make.
The price of robusta bean futures hit £3,211 per ton on the London markets in April , up 20 per cent on January's £2,674. And in New York, the price of arabica beans hit $5,105 (£4,125) per ton, a rise of 23 per cent on $4,151 (£3,354) over the same timeframe.
A prolonged heatwave in Vietnam, one of the world's largest producers of robusta beans, has damaged crops. Andrew Moriarty, of analysts Mintec, said: 'Robusta prices have been increasing for some time on two successive lower harvests in Vietnam.
'Over the last few weeks, production estimates for the previous 23/24 crop have dropped, and now many market participants expect the last harvest was down by around 20 per cent year on year.'
Research by The Grocer magazine found prices of Nescafé Gold Blend Instant Coffee are up by an average of 5.5 per cent since last week.
A spokesman for the brand's owner Nestlé said the company has seen 'significant increases in the cost of coffee, making it much more expensive to manufacture our products'.
Gareth Redmond-King, at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said: 'The cost of our morning coffee is soaring as climate change hits crops in Brazil and Vietnam. Worsening climate extremes are threatening food crops in the UK and overseas.
'We import half the food we consume – damaged crops limit supplies and raise prices in our shops.'
Recent data shows a 34.52 per cent increase in tea prices over the past month – making them 50 per cent higher than a year ago.
The main factor is said to be disruption to shipping from the world's biggest producers and exporters – China, India, Kenya and Sri Lanka – resulting from attacks on vessels in the Red Sea.
With shortages looming, Marco Forgione, of the Institute of Export and International Trade, said: 'The tranquillity of our tea supply and demand has been disrupted by recent upheavals, which has resulted in a surge in prices.
'These disruptions have rippled throughout the global supply chain, adding to price pressures, shrinkflation and availability issues, all of which put further pressure on consumers' already stretched purses and complicating businesses' supply chains.'
