+24% in 3 years, a cup 1.2 euros

It risks becoming “salty”. coffee the bar. Especially a Bari. The price of the cup of espresso drunk at the counter has already undergone continuous price increases in recent years, to the point that today the average price of a cup consumed stands at 1.18 euros in the main Italian cities. In the Apulian capital the price on average increased from 0.86 euros in 2021 to 1.07 euros in 2024. With an increase of 24% in three years. Last year in the city the price of coffee was around 1.04 euros. This is obviously an average: in some bars in the center the coffee ritual costs up to 1.2 euros.

«In our place the coffee has risen to 1.10 euros – explains the owner of a business in via Roberto da Bari – this year we had to adapt to the increase in raw materials. We prefer not to lose our customers by keeping prices low. Considering – he specifies – that our colleagues in the center of Bari charge 1.2 euros”. The same decision, which however dates back to two years ago, was that of Vito Scalera, owner of the historic Bar Moderno, in the heart of the Poggiofranco district. «We increased the cost of the cup to 1.1 euros two years ago with the rise in raw material prices and we have never changed it again». However, it remains at an average of one euro per cup in many bars in the more peripheral districts of the city.

That of Bari is the largest rise in all of Italy. Although for the people of Bari, consuming coffee at the bar is an ancient ritual rich in numerous meanings. In fact, it is part of a well-rooted social ritual. Only Palermo fares worse than the Apulian capital where there has been an increase of 28% in the three years. In Aosta prices rose by only 2.9%. Among the main cities, Bolzano is the one that holds the record for the expensive coffee at the bar, with an average price of 1.38 euros per cup, followed by Trento (1.31 euros) while Catanzaro, with an average of 0.99 euro, is the cheapest city, thus even surpassing Naples (1.05 euro). The data was collected by Assoutenti. However, if we compare today’s price lists with those in force in 2021, we discover that the province that has suffered the greatest price increases is Pescara, with the average price rising from 1 euro to 1.28 euros, followed by Bari.
But that is not all. The expensive coffee situation risks getting worse. The increases in the prices of the raw material on international markets risk having direct repercussions on the pockets of the people of Bari and Italians, leading to an increase in the cost of the classic cup at the bar.
Espresso coffee, as Assoutenti explains, has already undergone continuous price increases in recent years, to the point that today the average price of a cup consumed at the bar stands at 1.18 euros. Just 3 years ago, in 2021, the average cost of espresso was 1.03 euros: this means that Italians have already suffered a 14.9% increase for what is an indispensable daily tradition for millions of citizens.

«We fear that the increases in coffee prices could lead to increases in prices in the coming weeks both for drinks at the bar (coffee, cappuccino) and for powdered coffee sold in supermarkets – states the president Gabriele Melluso – even a few cents increase would cause a blow to consumers’ pockets, considering that in Italy around 6 billion coffees are served in public places per year for an espresso turnover of around 7 billion euros per year”. 2.23 billion cups of coffee are consumed every day in the world, making it the most drunk beverage globally. In detail, Europeans are the largest consumers, with an estimated 55% of global coffee consumption estimated in 2022, according to the International Coffee Organization.

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