The most expensive espresso in the West?

Belmono

Hi all
In an effort to keep out of the storms, a friend and I found shelter in the Harbour Hotel today. They've changed the lunchtime menu, or rather put a new colour scheme, and looks all fancy. However, I wonder if they've shot themselves in the foot a little with their coffees - they were charging
€2.95 (honest!) for a single espresso!
Is this the most expensive one you've ever heard of in Galway?
Oh, needless to say, we decided not to get coffee there. Other places seemed to be charging between €2 and €2.50 (still a bit on the mad side).
Would love to hear about your espresso experiences!

Gran Hermano

It's Galway, they probably had to bring in the water by helicopter.

asdfgh86

Considering it costs about 1 euro for an espresso in Italy, they're taking the p a bit.

Diarmuid

asdfgh86 wrote: »

Considering it costs about 1 euro for an espresso in Italy, they're taking the p a bit.

€0.75 at the stops on the autostrada.

Fuinseog

epresso is still quite recent to our shore. there are still cafes which bascially serve the powdered granules. if something is exotic then it costs. your average joe does not drink epresso. here, its more for people who have too much money and don't know how to spend it.

sure look at the crepes. at the galway market they cost at least 3 euro. in france no one would be willing to pay more than a euro for them.

Belmono

Gran Hermano, we certainly have no problem with water in Galway at the moment! (Although we might have to boil it!) Oh, and on the subject of Mediterranean things like espressos, your location should be 'La capital' (in Spanish, 'el capital' is 'capital' as in money; 'la capital' is 'capital (city)'!

brianthebard

Clearly GH is in the money!

tbh 2,95 is a bit much but still not that extravagant, hotels are always more expensive for a start in my limited experience of eating out. although the harbour hotel is probably worse than most, because they were (allegedly) the only hotel in town to raise prices for the volvo race- as a result they were half empty during the event.

gandroid

brianthebard wrote: »

tbh 2,95 is a bit much but still not that extravagant,.

I would have to disagree, €3 for an espresso is outrageous imo. It's hardly the Ritz. Usually they're not that well made or never seem to taste as good as they do abroad. I am not trying to moan but I really don't know why we put up with it...I know people have cut back on buying expensive coffees but if they were not so expensive to begin with people might actually buy them more often. This is the whole cost base thing again...everything needs to come down a little and maybe money might move around a bit more.

Another example is that some petrol stations charge €2 for a takeaway coffee, which is never above average. I don't think that's acceptable either and again I would be more likely to buy 3 over a week at €1 than one at €2.

cuddlycavies

€1 is about what a good expresso is worth. It's that in Italy, 90c in Spain. An adjustment is happening in Ireland at the moment and hopefully coffee will be a product/service included in that adjustment. Coffee shops could and should be busier but cheaper.

Diarmuid

cuddlycavies wrote: »

€1 is about what a good expresso is worth. It's that in Italy, 90c in Spain. An adjustment is happening in Ireland at the moment and hopefully coffee will be a product/service included in that adjustment. Coffee shops could and should be busier but cheaper.

"Worth" is a pretty nebulous term. Serving coffee is probably close to minimum wage job. In Ireland that is €1462/month, in spain €728, in Italy no minimum wage.

cuddlycavies

Yes but i think you'll find coffee shops in such countries are often owner operated. Here the boss wants to employ someone without training them properly while he drives a mercedes. That's the difference.

Mr Magnolia

€2.95 for an espresso is unjustifiable.

cuddlycavies

In a nutshell

Diarmuid

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

€2.95 for an espresso is unjustifiable.

expecting to pay €1 for an espresso in Ireland is equally unrealistic. I think somewhere in the €1.75 - €2 would be my limit.

Fajitas!

Ah here. I was working in the Conrad in Dublin on Friday, and got a macciato and an espresso. €4 for the single shot of espresso and a lovely €4.10 for the guy in the bar to come out and tell me he'd never made a macciato before, and I got about 2mm of nearly frothed milk in.

I was shocked.

ch2008

cuddlycavies wrote: »

€1 is about what a good expresso is worth. It's that in Italy, 90c in Spain. An adjustment is happening in Ireland at the moment and hopefully coffee will be a product/service included in that adjustment. Coffee shops could and should be busier but cheaper.

Italians and Spannish generally use very cheap, low grade bad quality coffee. This coupled with volumes as well as the roasteries providing free machines and grinders allows them to charge such a low price.

I've been told a few times that theres a law regarding the price a bar can charge for an espresso if your standing (cant find any proof though) so they cant charge more even if they want to.

After the Euro was introduced prices went from 1500lira to 1euro and there was national uproar because it was a 30% increase. One man took his local cafe to court...and won

I'd be more concerned with quality than price. Trying to regulate price will keep standards the same. I'd rather the quality was high and worry about the price after. If someone could guarentee me an excellant espresso everytime I'd gladly pay 3euro

gandroid

ch2008 wrote: »

I'd rather the quality was high and worry about the price after. If someone could guarentee me an excellant espresso everytime I'd gladly pay 3euro

I think that's a big if and either way most people would not be able to justify or afford to pay 3 euro everytime.

Clinker

ch2008 wrote: »

Italians and Spannish generally use very cheap, low grade bad quality coffee. T

I'd be more concerned with quality than price. Trying to regulate price will keep standards the same. I'd rather the quality was high and worry about the price after. If someone could guarentee me an excellant espresso everytime I'd gladly pay 3euro

I'd second that. I used to feel that it was fantastic how cheap espresso was in Spain, Italy, Portugal. Now that I've learned what a good espresso might taste like, I think it's extraordinary that so many people can get away with making such bad espresso in those countries!

ch2008

gandroid wrote: »

I think that's a big if and either way most people would not be able to justify or afford to pay 3 euro everytime.

True, but 've seen some coffee shops do "guest espresso'" from a very exclusive micro lot for a limited time as an option. You can still get the regular espresso if you like or you can try the more expensive option. Seems to work well

Tigerbaby

I feel your pain. I have found my own way to protest excessive coffee prices. Just the other day, at a petrol station "in the South East", I was charged 2.15 for a small coffee ( self service ). I just refused to pay, walked away. The price wasnt posted up anywhere, so I didnt know what the charge would be until I went to pay for it. Chap behind the counter had no option but to take the coffee and dump it. Hopefully , he will report same to the owner. If enough of us did that, then we would see prices slide.

I felt a bit sorry for the shop assistant, and hope he didnt get hassled over it.

But Civil disobedience works! Now, lets try same in pubs etc. it just might work.

Mackleton

TBH that's just silly prices, €2.95? FFS, I am currently living in Central Spain and am a self confessed espresso addict, after trying plenty of places, the best I have found is delicious and costs €1.20

I will be honest and say that here at least you won't get cheaper than that if you want an espresso or "café solo" as it is in Spanish.

I will second that as someone who does frequently order espressos in Ireland when I'm home, they are almost always overpriced and completely flavourless.

gandroid

Tigerbaby wrote: »

I feel your pain. I have found my own way to protest excessive coffee prices. Just the other day, at a petrol station "in the South East", I was charged 2.15 for a small coffee ( self service ). I just refused to pay, walked away.

Fair play Tigerbaby. I think we need more of this, as you say I believe prices would drop. It's not like you were going to sit down in beautiful surroundings and drink it out of a fine bone china cup. 2.15!! The markup on that must be unreal...I mean how much could it cost to make a cup of coffee even including overheads, 20-30 cent max....