What you said about St Ali boss’s call for cafes to increase their prices

Australia’s latte-loving community is hotly debating a call for cafes to “be brave” and raise the price they charge for a cup of coffee.

A well known Melbourne cafe owner has called on other cafes to “be brave” and increase the price they charge for a cup of coffee.

St Ali boss Lachlan Ward said Australians should pay $5.50 minimum for a regular flat white, with his South Melbourne cafe already leading the charge by pricing its dine-in flat whites at $6.50.

Some coffee lovers think that’s a fair price for a good cuppa, while others say jacking up prices in a cost of living crisis is not good business.

Read the opinions below and let us know what you think.

WHAT YOU SAID

‘I won’t pay that’

Dino

Idiotic. I make mine at home for about $1-2. Will not pay $5 or more.

Paul

LOL! I’m sure it’s delicious but when you can grab a coffee from 7/11 or Maccas for change (for the few of us that still use coins) how long do you expect to stay in business? People are cutting costs wherever they can but clearly in your fantasy land you believe they will pay a fortune for your coffee. Good luck with that!

Andrew

Ordinary middle class people are being squeezed out of any luxuries by elites, government taxes and social engineering.

Would you pay a minimum of $5.50 for a regular-sized coffee?

Simon

They can charge what they want. If people can’t or won’t pay it, they will go broke anyway. When people can’t pay their power bills, going without a coffee is the least of your worries. These guys are completely tone deaf.

Becky

Maybe they should worry about getting customer service right before charging you your left kidney for a daily coffee.

Scott

I’d like to know where you can get one UNDER $4.50 for a small!!!

Brad

When having a daily coffee becomes a financial consideration rather than a casual enjoyment (due to cost) then sales will drop off quickly – this line is fast approaching.

READ: This cafe thinks Melbourne coffee is too cheap

‘I’m already paying that’

Shane

I am already paying those prices for my daily caffeine fix. I am lucky enough to be able to afford it but some may forgo it if the price gets too high.

Angela

I have a machine but hardly use it because l like going to cafes for the social interaction with friendly staff and admiring the decor.

Denise

I have been paying from $5.50 to $6:.0 for a long time now. I don’t mind the price as long as the coffee is good quality.

Daryl

I would pay $6 for a standard size, regular coffee (latte, flat white etc) but everyone expects their half decaf, with a lemon twist etc. for the same price. The time that goes into it is the cost. If you want the cosmopolitan lifestyle you need to pay for it.

Carol

I live in the west and support my local but she now charges $6.50 for a large strong flat white, thankfully I only have one coffee a day. I also buy from Coles Express, $3.50, for a large and the coffee is as good as the $6.50. Prices vary in each cafe.

Louise

I already pay $6.50 for my coffee at local cafes. By the way, our work supplies St Ali coffee for staff and it is by far the best coffee I have ever tasted, at least during the week my boss is paying for my coffee.

‘I’ve paid more than that’

Peter

I recently went to a restaurant in Carlton and my wife ordered a latte at $5.50 and it was served in a mug. I received the bill and noticed l was charged $1.50 for the mug so the latte cost me $7 dollars.

Steve

A lot of people are discussing the merits of the price of coffee, but what about cakes and pastries that go along with it (at times)?

I was charged $15 the other day for a lemon slice and a small latte. I will not return to that cafe.

And doughnuts used to be good value small snacks, now that they are somehow a gourmet experience they range from $1.50 (yes, in some bakeries still) to $8! For an iced doughnut?

‘Consumers will decide if the price is fair’

Likeaglove

Consumers will determine the market price. Charge what you want. People will either buy it or not. But don’t complain when you price yourself out of the market.

Michael

Let them put their prices up and then we will find out if customers think that they are fair. At the end of the day, the value of anything is what someone is prepared to pay for it.

Kay

People will pay it if it’s good coffee. With emphasis on ‘good’.

‘A cup of coffee isn’t just the beans and milk’

Anon

As a former failed cafe owner, attitudes in this story are exactly why so many venues close after a few years. Until you become part of the industry, customers have little regard for all of the hidden costs that go into your $6 coffee. It is not just the coffee beans and milk. There are endless taxes and charges, rent, wages and super, cost of materials, suppliers etc to pay and everyone else has to get paid before the owners can even think of making a living. Why do people expect shops to work for free or actually at a loss? The chickens have come home to roost after Covid payments have stopped and many small businesses now have an unenviable tax surprise from the ATO to deal with. Expect more small businesses to close their doors this year.

Baristas Tess Rekers and Alex Wang. Picture: Jason Edwards

A

Shows that Melbourne is not as educated on coffee as many would lead you to believe. Comparing pods, home made etc to barista made coffee and especially those who curate the best beans seasonally from around the world.

Also in regards to restaurants and food, there has been a false economy because drinks and beverages and especially wine has covered business costs and lower food prices.

The choice is out there for low price options; here we are talking quality and you should pay commensurately for quality because it supports an industry that does push forward, innovate, create and pay their employees for their efforts.

Hymie

You can carry on all you like about the cost of coffee but once the cafe pays rent electricity, labour, insurance, workcover, etc if they don’t charge more than you will all be carrying on about how you can’t find a cafe to buy a coffee from.

‘I make my own coffee now’

Michael

Went from buying two cups a day every weekday and probably another four or more on weekends. As prices rose and a good $5k a year on coffee, now have a machine. By all means out your prices up, I vote with my feet.

Rachael

We purchased a home coffee machine four months ago and getting close to making our money back over three people using it. Daughter works as a barista while at uni and loves this little machine. While I always try to support small business where I can, some of their attitudes toward customers like this cafe owner and the restaurateur from last week criticising his customers for not wanting to spend $50 is kind of rude.

Solo

We have got our own coffee machine and buy beans to suit our tastes and make coffee they way we like it. Very rarely do baristas make it hot. Good luck increasing your prices.

Many Victorians make their own coffee at home.

‘This is part of a wider problem’

Spike

So this business is going to literally price itself out of existence because it thinks we aren’t paying enough for coffee.

Does this business also know that more and more people are working from home most days of the week and their customers just aren’t turning up?

Seems to be a bit backward in thinking that charging more will have more customers!

Have they not heard of a little thing called the “cost of living crisis” that everyone is going through? A jar of coffee is looking more and more cost effective!

Adrian

Labor is killing hospitality. While I don’t think $50 mains and $6.50 coffees are what the market will pay, reality is that land taxes and rent, inflationary pressure on supplies, fuel, insurance and the like, and unrealistic penalty rates are hiking up menu pricing to the point where it’s unsustainable for the vendor and unrealistic for the consumer.

John

Good try, coffee is a margin product, if Maccas and servos can sell it for $2, work it out. Better coffee isn’t worth $6.00.

Try working on the real problems, the government jacking up and forcing all your other costs up.

Start pushing back on your council, government so they know it’s unacceptable instead of taking the easy path and putting prices up for your customers, that only goes so far before it tips and you have too few left to operate.

A Community Service Announcement

“The cafe is already hiking prices and hoping the industry follows” is a way of saying: “We are putting our prices up and if everyone else does it then we don’t look really expensive”