We're kicking off a new weekly series called Behind the Grind - a weekly post where we simply share behind the scenes stories of running Dog & Gun as well as the occasional adventure yarn and some personal musings that might be useful or insightful for you.
Spilling The Beans - What’s going on at D&G 👇
Some days running a small business feels like being repeatedly kicked in the dick but you just have to grin and keep sipping at your coffee 😅
Here’s a fun fact: global green coffee prices just hit an all-time high the other day.
We’ve already seen a 100% increase on our cost of green (raw) coffee in the last twelve months and we’re about to get smashed again.
News reports are suggesting that a $10 flat white is on the cards this year at some cafes. That’s not unreasonable when you look at typical coffee prices across the world. In London for example, it’s fairly common to pay £4 for a flat white - nearly $8 Aussie!
Here, we’re still seeing some establishments in the sub $5 market, which is honestly pretty hard to comprehend at this point. Those joints are either on borrowed time or that’s not actually coffee you’re drinking.
(Also - isn’t it weird that a “bubble tea” costs more than a coffee…? That’s a bevo that requires exactly zero skill to put together compared to a custom roasted, barista-crafted coffee and, as far as I know, there is no such thing as specialty-grade tapioca balls).
So coffee prices will definitely increase but the reality is, coffee culture isn’t going anywhere. We’ve been drinking this stuff for tens of thousands of years and that habit isn’t going to stop now.
An important point to remember is that for a lot of us, coffee is more than just a beverage… there’s the social element too and maybe a sense of ritual. We “catch up for a coffee” as part of our culture and coffee since the dawn of time has been largely about bringing people together.
What’s likely to change is how often people grab a coffee while out and about vs smashing out some of the good stuff at home instead. 🤔 Would you pay $10 for a cafe coffee? Where do you draw the line? Do you think you’ll start making more coffee at home going forward?