Espresso prices are a drain on the cup: +24% in five years.

Coffee at the bar, a sacred and indispensable ritual for millions of Italians, is becoming a luxury. Drinking an espresso today costs almost a quarter more than it did five years ago. The alarm was raised by the Center for Training and Research on Consumption (CRC), which, in collaboration with Assoutenti, analyzed official data from MIMIT, revealing a grim reality for consumers' pockets.

According to the study, the average cup of espresso costs €1,29 in Italy, up 25 cents from 2021 and a percentage increase of 24,2%. But the price of espresso varies across the country. While Bolzano holds the record for highest cost of living at €1,51 per cup, and Messina remains a drinker's paradise at €1,06, Naples ranks just below the national average, hovering around €1,28. This price, in the city symbolizing coffee, weighs doubly: while tradition dictates high quality standards, rising management costs for coffee shop owners threaten to turn a daily pleasure into a whim.

The analysis highlights that fluctuations in the coffee market aren't the only reason for price increases. "The increases recorded at coffee shops are driven by other factors, such as rising energy and management costs for operators, which are then passed on to consumers in final prices," warns Furio Truzzi, president of the CRC's scientific committee.

And the future doesn't bode well. A new risk looms on the horizon: Colombian coffee exports are suffering a serious logistical disruption due to the 7.4 magnitude earthquake that struck the country. While the smell of coffee remains an irresistible lure on the streets of Naples, the suspicion is that a coffee break could soon weigh even more heavily on the wallet.