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"Why can't American coffee be sold for 99 yuan?"

Published: 2026-04-26 Author:

Last Updated: 2026/04/26, ▲ click to follow | Daily boutique Coffee Culture Magazine Coffee Workshop Today, the coffee market competition is becoming more and more fierce, many brand coffee brands are emerging, along with the closure of some coffee shops. In this market environment, more and more independent cafes begin to think about how to seek a broader living space.

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Nowadays, with the increasingly fierce competition in the coffee market, many branded coffee brands continue to emerge, along with the closure of some coffee shops. In this market environment, more and more independent cafes begin to think about how to seek a broader living space.

Recently, an employee of a cafe posted a post on the social platform saying, "if you can sell it for 128 yuan, why can't you sell American style for 99 yuan?"

The staff of the cafe said that the prices of hand-brewed coffee in many well-known cafes are now more than 100 yuan, because the purchase price of raw coffee beans is not cheap. Based on this, he asked an interesting question: "if there is an American latte in 99 and a latte in 128, will anyone be willing to try it?"

In this regard, some netizens said that consumers may now pay more attention to the ratio of performance to price. They argue that while hand-brewed coffee may be cleaner in flavor than espresso, the pricing of American coffee may make consumers suspicious. This is not because of the quality of American coffee, but because the word "American" itself may make consumers think it should be cheaper than hand-brewed coffee.

In addition, some netizens asked that if you can use less coffee powder (such as 14g) to make a good coffee drink, then why use more coffee powder (such as 18g) to increase the cost? At the same time, some netizens worried, "spend a lot of money to drink shabu-shabu water," and a good bean to express the flavor of the beans is not the same as the trend of hand-brewed coffee, therefore, would rather choose a combination of beans may not choose another.

Some netizens further pointed out that in pricing, we should not only consider the cost of coffee beans, but also pay attention to showing the production process of coffee. Hand-brewed coffee is usually able to fully demonstrate its unique brewing process on the bar, which is full of hand-made skills and personalized service, and consumers are often willing to pay higher prices for it.

The production process of espresso is relatively short, relying more on machines and automation, which may lead consumers to hold lower expectations on price.

At the same time, there are a large number of low-price substitutes for espresso in the market, and there is a significant difference in the price of these alternatives, which affects consumers' willingness to pay for espresso. In contrast, consumers may be more willing to pay higher prices for hand-brewed coffee because of its uniqueness and irreplaceability.

Nowadays, many cafes generally improve the sense of acquisition by increasing the complexity of the production form, such as the information card of coffee beans or the ornamental combo coffee.

In terms of pricing, although the prices of some cafes are higher, many consumers say they are willing to pay for coffee as long as it is of good quality and taste. They believe that as long as the price matches the quality of the product, it is worth it even if the price is slightly higher.

On the contrary, if the coffee is not good, no matter how low the price is, consumers will not think it is worth it. This shows that in the pricing of cafes, in addition to considering the cost and market competition, we should pay more attention to the quality and taste of products to ensure that consumers can get a satisfactory consumption experience.

Generally speaking, in terms of pricing strategy, coffee shops need to comprehensively consider factors such as cost, production process, market alternatives and so on, in order to work out a pricing scheme that can not only attract consumers but also ensure profits. By fully showing the production process and uniqueness of coffee, so that consumers are willing to pay the bill, to achieve the sustainable development of coffee shops.

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