It has become part of the college student aesthetic to go for a coffee every day. But, being an unemployed college student, it has become clear that coffee is just way too expensive. Let’s not lie to ourselves, we all give in to the temptation to pop to the Tram café or to Insomnia before THAT lecture to give ourselves any fighting chance of staying awake. But if we do the maths real quick, it becomes far less appealing.
Today, in your average coffee shop, you’re looking at between €4.30 to €4.50 for a medium cup of coffee. The average coffee drinker drinks at least one coffee a day. So if we multiply €4.50 by 7, that’s €31.50 a week for medium lattes/cappuccinos and americanos, and that’s excluding alternative milk, syrups and sweet treats. If you were to follow this routine, you would spend approximately €126 a month on coffee.
I know what you’re thinking: how is this a failure? If anything, the coffee industry is booming right now. And you would be right – it is booming, but that’s the problem. With such demand, the price is forever on the rise, and now you have pretentious hipsters with their soya cortados and their extra-hot triple-shot caramel oat lattes.
It was all the way back in the 17th century when the first coffeehouse opened in Dublin. Historically, coffee culture was promoted in Ireland to try to dilute pub culture and antisocial behaviour. About 20 years ago a cup of coffee cost no more than €2. It was thought that providing cheap coffees and a nice social atmosphere with low jazzy music and a homely ambience would make cafés the go-to hang-out spot. People would ring their friends and ask to catch up over a nice cup of coffee rather than go for a few beers.
Nowadays, unfortunately the price of a coffee isn’t too different from a pint. Why wouldn’t you go for a beer, then? With that, you’re getting the social aspect, and you also get a buzz from your drink. Let’s be honest – your friend has never tried to rob a trolley and go joyriding down the town after a cappuccino now, have they?
But what would my suggestion be, you ask? I think the premise of promoting coffee culture is phenomenal, but that the execution of it was utter dirt. If you go to the likes of Spain or France, they do it right. According to ‘Idealista’ the average cup of coffee in Spain costs €1.50 in 2023. Not only is the coffee cheaper, but the general attitude towards it is also a lot calmer. As Irish people, we pride ourselves on always looking busy. We barely ever make time in our day for ourselves. Most of the time, we get takeaway coffees whilst rushing out to work or neck cappuccinos in the 20 minutes we allow ourselves to have lunch. In mainland Europe, everyone takes things at their own pace. They sit down with their coffees and switch off for however long they need, or they answer emails or whatever they like to do. The main thing is that they pencil it into their day.
It’s always nice to have the option to go for a mid-day coffee and catch up with ‘the gals’. Or, on a hot summer’s day, pop in and get a delectable iced caramel macchiato. Or, on the morning after the night before, trudge in to treat yourself to a well-deserved mocha. What we take for granted though, is the fact that it should be a treat. Something maybe once or twice a week or twice on a Friday, if you’ve been good. If coffee culture is going to be used to dilute pub culture, the approach needs to be completely changed and so do our attitudes.
So, as I’m sitting here in my favourite coffee shop, sipping away on my coffee that cost me €5.30, I try to drown out the screams of my bank account; I ponder about a world where I don’t have to choose between an americano or a mortgage and, only there, am I at peace.
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