Because the guests think that 14 yuan espresso is too expensive! The coffee shop was fined 7000 yuan.

There is no place in the world where espresso is more popular than Italy. In January 2022, espresso was officially listed as a candidate for the intangible heritage of mankind by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). From this, we can see that espresso is not just a refreshing drink for Italians, but a kind of life, a culture and an integral part of Italian national identity.

Therefore, the prices of espresso in local Italian cafes are very cheap. Between 2002 and 2012, even with an inflation rate of 2.63%, most local cafes (except tourist attractions) priced espresso at around 1 euro, according to the International Coffee Organization (ICO). Until the outbreak of the epidemic in 2020, the price of espresso in Italy remained at this price.

However, as the epidemic continues, the rising price of coffee beans and the rising cost of labor and rent have forced many local cafes in Italy to adjust the price of espresso to about 1.50 euros, and this move has also led the Italian consumer group Codacons to complain about the rising price of espresso. There are also some local people who believe that an increase in the price of espresso will cause harm to Italian consumers.

More than two years later, although local people have accepted the increase in the price of espresso, some people will still be bitter about it, and many people will think that 1.50 euros is already the highest price for espresso. (this is just that consumers think that there is no law stipulating that espresso can only be priced.) so the title of the article appeared for people to look at. That's what happened.

Recently, the price of a cup of decaf espresso in a local cafe exceeded the price range of 1.50 euros, which guests thought was too expensive. At the same time, the store did not mark the price of decaf espresso in front of the cashier (physical coffee menu), so the police were called in. Guests said that Italian local espresso, whether caffeinated or non-caffeinated, sells for about 1.3-1.5 euros, and 2 euros in their home is too expensive! And the price is not written down, and the cafe has to pay for it!

The boss of Coffee Duan also complained: "I wrote it!" It's on the electronic menu! " But the police also thought that he failed to make the price clear and put the price of decaine espresso on the physical menu, so they fined him 1000 euros (about RMB7109).

Afterwards, the owner of the store complained on the social platform: this is very unreasonable! Because the cost of decaf beans is high, they use low-caffeine beans produced in Mexico, and the baristas in the store are also very professional and have high requirements for every espresso.

At the same time, he also said that he did not think the fine was unreasonable because there was something wrong with it (the price of caffeine espresso was not indicated on the physical menu). The unreasonable thing is that consumers think that espresso must be cheap, so espresso sold in cafes would rather lose money than dare to raise the price.

But he didn't follow suit, and in the end, because the espresso sold was more than half an euro more expensive than other cafes, the guests called the police. The price of decaf espresso in 99.9% of Italian cafes will not be specifically stated on the menu: how much is regular espresso and how much is decaf espresso. If you punish him this time, it also means that other coffee shops will also be punished for this, so send an article to remind your peers!

Francesco Sanapo, the coffee shop owner, won three coffee tournaments in Italy and is well-known in the local coffee industry. After the incident, he posted an article on a website about "whether Italians can be persuaded to pay more for espresso".

He said that as something deeply rooted in the country's cultural identity, Italians believe that espresso is a drink that everyone can afford, so the price must be cheap. So even if the price of espresso does not rise high, most consumers will still be dissatisfied.

The article said that Italians will not think that 2 euros of newspapers are expensive, but they will think that 1.2 euros of espresso is not worth it. What people don't know, however, is that the espresso they drink now is no longer made of Robusta beans. Most cafes in Italy now make espresso from better quality Arabica beans.

With the popularity of boutique coffee in Italy, low-cost robusta coffee is gradually replaced by high-quality Arabica coffee beans. In 2020, the average price of 1kg Arabica beans is more than twice that of 1kg Robsta beans, meaning it is impossible for espresso to be sold at 1 euro. But because Italians are used to this price, many Italian cafes are afraid of losing customers, so many are selling espresso / low-quality espresso at a loss.

But Francesco believes that this approach is not a long-term solution, although it can retain customers, but the quality of espresso will only get worse and worse. Nowadays, the quality of coffee beans is getting better and better, and people can't just focus on low-quality and low-price espresso, so Francesco believes that it is more important to provide high-quality espresso.

The price of espresso has been "rewritten", led by Francesco. He believes that the espresso sold in his coffee shop is made by skilled baristas using high-quality beans extracted by a more accurate coffee machine, which is worth adjusting the price of espresso from 1 euro to 1.5 euros. He said that in order to preserve a good culture, inheritance alone cannot go further, and if more people want to have a deeper and better influence on espresso, it is necessary to improve the quality of each cup of espresso.

Francesco was the first to break the price of espresso, which was opposed by a lot of people at first, but it didn't have much impact on his coffee shop. He said that as long as the barista explained the reasons for the price increase to the guests when they ordered, and talked to them more about the social and ecological effects of coffee, most of the guests would be willing to accept it.

Many coffee shops follow the price increase because others have raised prices, and there is no much explanation for this. Baristas are not skilled and the quality of espresso remains the same, so it will make many consumers feel dissatisfied. In many cases, it is not that consumers are unwilling to pay a little more, but that the service and coffee quality will make them think it is not worth it.

Francesco wrote at the end of the article: "if the cafe can give better service to customers, no guests will complain about the high price of coffee, because the whole consumer experience is worth it." "

Photo Source: Internet