Why a $6 Pour-Over Coffee Isn’t Expensive: A Real Cost Breakdown
Over the past few years, rising green coffee prices have been discussed nonstop, and naturally, café pricing has climbed along with them. Take pour-over coffee, for example. In my view, pricing a cup at ¥45 is already quite fair—almost a “conscience price.” Most pour-overs today fall in the ¥50–80 range, and for rare or auction lots, prices can easily exceed ¥100 per cup. So today, let’s take a middle ground and carefully break down a ¥45 pour-over. Where does the cost really go? Before talking about cost, we need to clarify what actually makes up a cup of pour-over coffee. If you think it’s just “coffee beans + hot water,” that’s far too simplistic. When calculating cost, you can’t limit yourself to visible material expenses alone. I’ve discussed this topic with several café owners, and the breakdown can be roughly summarized as follows: Visible material costs: ~15–20% Hidden operational & labor costs: ~40–50% Knowledge & experience premium: ~20–30% Bran...