How has the price of a coffee consumed at a bar changed in the last two years?
Assoutenti took care of answering the question with a survey that also examines which cities have the "highest" price lists and the most substantial price increases.
Today, coffee consumed at bars costs on average 11.5% more than two years ago , with espresso going from a national average of 1.04 euros in 2021 to the current 1.16 euros. Only in the bars of three Italian cities, Catanzaro, Reggio Calabria and Messina , can you still drink an espresso at prices lower than 1 euro per cup, while in 22 provinces the price lists exceed 1.20 euros.
The saltiest coffee is that of Bolzano , with an average of 1.34 euros per cup, followed by Trento (1.31 euros), Belluno (1.28 euros), Padua (1.27 euros), Udine (1. 26 euros) and Trieste (1.25 euros).
The cheapest city is Messina, with 0.95 euros for express, 0.99 euros in Catanzaro and Reggio Calabria . However - Assoutenti points out - it is precisely the Calabrian cities that are recording the heaviest price increases: according to official data provided by Mimit, in Cosenza coffee at the bar has increased by as much as 36.4%, passing an average of 0.88 euro of 2021 at the current 1.20 euros. In Catanzaro the price rises from 0.80 to 0.99 euros in two years, recording a +23.8%. In Pescara the increases are on average 22% (from 1 to 1.22 euros), +20.9% in Bari, +19.5% in Palermo. Bergamo, Ascoli Piceno, Trento and Syracuse recorded price increases of around +16%.
The city that has increased coffee prices the least in the last two years is Aosta : +2.9%, from 1.05 euros to 1.08 euros. Followed by Lucca (+3.6%) and Cagliari (+3.8%).
Considering that in Italy the latest estimates record around 6 billion coffees served every year by around 150 thousand bars in the area, the coffee break today costs citizens a whopping 720 million euros more than in 2021, with a turnover of business for espresso which goes from 6.24 billion euros two years ago to almost 7 billion euros in 2023, adds Assoutenti.
