Pu’er Coffee

 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...

 When you walk into a café and order an Americano or a milk-based coffee, you’ll often see two options on the menu: the default house blend espresso, or a pricier SOE. And naturally, some people wonder— why does this “SOE” cost more? What exactly makes it more expensive? SOE Coffee — What Exactly Is It? First, both SOE and blends are terms within the world of espresso. SOE (Single Origin Espresso) refers to espresso made from coffee beans that come from a single origin, as opposed to a house blend espresso that combines beans from multiple origins. Back in the days before “acidic coffee” became trendy, most cafés used blends composed of beans from two or more regions. Shops rarely emphasized where their beans came from or what ratios they used. And since darker roasts were the mainstream preference at the time, this ensured stable extraction, rich crema, and a full-bodied espresso. The Rise of SOE In the 1980s, the concept of specialty coffee took off. High-quality single-or...