Coffee or Wine? A Deep dive into the value of your morning brew
As residents of South Africa we are greatly blessed. Not only because of the sheer availability of good coffee but also the affordability of getting a cup of coffee somewhere.
Im still in Europe and after spending a month in Spain, I’m even more excited to get back home to quality affordable coffee.
Image taken at Next Level Specialty Coffee in Malaga Spain. They had a Single Origin on bar from Ethiopia, roasted by Ineffable Roasters (Sevilla). This was the best coffee i experienced in Spain.
It came as a shock to me that most cafe’s and places in Spanish Cities, the price point of a Cappuccino (for argument sake) is very very close to the price of a decent glass of wine. So every morning i had a tough choice to make, either have a relatively expensive average coffee or a glass of wine. Yes sure there we’re local ‘Cafeteria’s’ and bakeries that sold coffee for under 2 euros (about R40), but if we are talking average to good coffee, it would be around 3,5 euro (R70), in comparison to a really nice of red wine for 2,5 euro.
My friend and I, busy enjoying our expensive flat whites, were debating why this is. Consider this; the process from grape to glass of wine is quite extensive yes, but so is the process from bean to cup. To enjoy a glass of Rioga Red wine, a farmer has to plant and mature the vines, then pick, process and store until it’s ready to be bottled. It then get’s transported to the distributors of restaurants. Sounds like a hefty process, until you realise the one from bean to bar is fairly, if not more expensive.
A cherry plant (the plant we get beans from) is only grown in equator countries. It takes up to 4 years before it generates fruits. These cherry fruits then need to be hand picked once a year, and then processed either what you know as ‘washed’ or ‘naturally’ processed. Some roaster you love then imports the ‘green beans’ to their roasters, to start the roasting process. Some trial and error with the recipe to match that harvest. Finally you can start selling, branding and distributing the beans. For blends, this process is obviously even more complex.
I find it fascinating how similar the process sounds to wine production. If you were to replace the word ‘bean’ or ‘cherry’ with ‘grape’, you can fool almost anyone.
The big difference that gets me is this: once the wine is bottled, anyone can serve it up, but with coffee, someone still needs to be trained, expensive heavy duty machinery still needs to be purchased and maintained to get you that flat white. And yet, coffee is still much much much cheaper in South Africa than a glass of wine.
Image taken at ARVO Coffee & Plants, Bilbao Spain. Best cheesecake in Basque country for sure, and I tried and tested one every 2nd day.
I won’t pretend to be an expert on why that is. Im sure there’s more to it, but I would like to point out and encourage you to appreciate the supply chain, and the people behind each cup of coffee you have. Perhaps be more generous with your tipping, or support, and complain a little less when they are forced to push the prices up ever so slightly to meet their already minimal profit margins.
The supply chain of coffee is greatly underpriced for the labour and expertise it takes to get you that flat white. Next time you’re enjoying your coffee somewhere, and feeling grumpy because it’s R35, just remember, somewhere else, it would be just as expensive as a glass of wine.
Remember, life happens, coffee helps. Until next time,
Stephanie.
Article cover image: Taken at Barista Club in Bilbao, Spain.