[Culturechat] Cup of Coffee in CH

[Vance Roy]

The news out is that a cup of that good Swiss coffee is going to be more 
expensive next year. That is, if you buy it in a restaurant. A cup will 
cost you up to half a CHF more. This is tantamount to a serious 
political decision here such as joining the UN. People take their coffee 
seriously. There will be fallout, but I do not expect a backdown.

Here is a breakdown on the cost division in a single cup:

58.5% of the cost is for salaries.
16.5% is for fixed costs such as the machine, interest, and real estate 
costs
13.4% is for general costs such as water, power, and taxes
8.2% is for product expenses such as coffee, cream, sugar
1.8% is for maintenance and wear/tear on equipment
1.6% is for cleaning and repairs

There are some good alternatives to buying coffee in a restaurant. The 
price of coffee in the bag bought in a grocery store is not expensive 
compared to a restaurant. Drinking coffee at home is a cheaper way of 
doing that. Also, a lot of train stations and kiosks have coffee for 
sale. For example, a cup of freshly ground coffee with cream and sugar, 
made on the spot, costs 1.50 CHF at the Sachseln station. Of course the 
cup is plastic, but you can also take it with you on the train, where a 
cup will cost you 3+ CHF. The best price that I have found is at the 
business school in Sarnen, where a cup of coffee or a cappuccino will 
cost you only 1.00 CHF. If you do it yourself or let the machine do it, 
you save over 50%.
-- 
Vance Roy
gigli.saw@dplanet.ch.