Beverages Price of a cup of coffee rises for the fifth year in a row

In 2024, customers will pay an average of nine centimes more than in the previous year for a cup of coffee in a Swiss restaurant. This means that the price of coffee has risen for the fifth year in a row, as the Cafetiersuisse association announced on Monday. And it is likely to continue to rise.

"I never laugh until I've had my coffee," Clark Gable is said to have once said. It is questionable whether the US actor would have felt like laughing at all if he had had to pay the price of an average café crème in Switzerland today. This is 4.58 francs. In some regions, you even pay up to 6 francs for an ordinary coffee.

On average, a café crème in a café, bakery or bistro in German-speaking Switzerland costs CHF 4.58 this year, 9 centimes more than in the previous year. This is the fifth year in a row that the price has risen, according to the association. In the last ten years, the price has even risen by 36 centimes, which corresponds to an increase of around 9 percent.

Cup of coffee cheapest on average in Solothurn

According to the annual Cafetiersuisse survey, the cheapest coffee is available in the canton of Aargau, where the lowest price is 2.50 francs. However, at CHF 4.50, the average price paid there is only the fourth cheapest. The cheapest average price for a café crème is 4.45 francs in Solothurn, where the cheapest coffee costs 3.50 francs and the most expensive 5.00 francs.

In the canton of Zug, a café crème costs 4.30 francs, even from the cheapest provider. Zug is therefore the only canton where the lowest price is over 4.00 francs. With an average price of 4.84 francs, coffee in the canton of Zug is also the most expensive overall. According to Cafetiersuisse President Hans-Peter Oettli, the price in Zug has risen by a full 18 centimes compared to the previous year. However, there have been a few changes in the composition of the establishments surveyed, he added in a video conference.

The experts found the highest price for a cup of coffee in the canton of Zurich. Customers in restaurants there pay up to CHF 6.00 for a café crème, and at CHF 4.78 on average, it is also the second-highest price in the cantonal comparison.

Unsurprisingly, the city of Zurich is also the most expensive, with an average price of CHF 4.86 for a cup of coffee. In the city of Bern, a café crème costs an average of CHF 4.72, and in Winterthur and Basel-Stadt CHF 4.67 each.

Prices continue to rise

According to Cafetiersuisse President Hans-Peter Oettli, prices are likely to continue to rise at the same rate in 2025. "Further price increases in this range can also be expected in the coming year," he is quoted as saying in the press release.

One of the reasons given by Oettli at the video conference was the continuing rise in costs. However, according to Oettli, it is still unclear what influence wage costs are likely to have as an important factor. "Unfortunately, the wage negotiations with the trade unions have failed and we now have to wait for the arbitration tribunal's decision," said the association president. He explained that the cost of staff in a restaurant made up almost 50 percent of the price of a cup of coffee.

According to Oettli, coffee bean prices themselves do not have too much influence on the price of a cup, although they have risen to unprecedented heights this year. "Coffee is increasingly becoming a luxury good because harvests are getting worse and worse - not least due to the climate - and coffee is becoming more and more popular across all social classes," says Oettli.

Prices have risen as a result of the increasing demand coupled with lower supply. He expects prices to slowly stabilize again at a high level, he explained.

SDA