Huge increases at Costa Coffee send prices rocketing to £6.15 a cup
HUGE increases at coffee giant Costa have sent prices rocketing to £6.15 a cup, a Sun investigation has revealed.
The café chain’s 2,600 outlets across the UK are now charging £6 for pimped-up versions of its lattes and cappuccinos.
They include exotic brews featuring extra shots, specialist milks and marshmallows, cream or chocolate toppings. But the same drinks can cost an extra 15p at airports.
Sarah Coles, from investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “These prices — albeit for coffees featuring added extras — are truly eye-watering.”
Caffeine fans were already outraged when the chain put prices up in June, for the second time in six months.
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Customers saw the cost of their favourite brew rise by as much as 12 per cent at the time, with a flat white going up from £2.95 to £.30 and a small cappuccino from £3.15 to £3.50.
In February we reported how Costa had put its prices up at the end of last year, following a triple whammy of poor harvests, supply chain problems and higher transport costs, which sent the global cost of coffee beans rocketing.
The price changes vary depending on the drink and size you choose, and it has now emerged that adding extras to your order could put the cost of your cuppa to more than £6.
The price leap - discovered by Sun researchers - comes just a month after we revealed the country’s biggest coffee chain had slapped a 14p price increase on all its drinks.
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At Costa’s outlet at Tesco’s in Crawley, West Sussex, a large Power Hazelnut Cappuccino, served with almond milk, two extra shots and a marshmallow, will set punters back a whopping £6.
The 2,600-cafe chain’s outlet at Tesco’s in Bishop Stortford the price of a large Energiser Caramel Cappuccino served with oat milk, two extra shots and a flake, is also £6.
And at Edinburgh’s South Bridge branch a large Energiser Vanilla Cappuccino with two extra shots and whipped cream was also £6.
Similarly at Birmingham’s Navigation Street city centre cafe a large Energiser Vanilla Cappuccino served with coconut milk, two extra shots and a flake, is available for £6.
At Farnham Road Costa café in Slough, Berks a large Energiser Caramel Latte served with skimmed milk, two extra shots and a flake, is again £6 a pop.
The same £6 drinks cost an extra 15p at Costas in UK airports, punishing coffee lovers still further as they brave travel chaos.
The priciest drinks are from the Costa+ range, which contain either a protein supplement or added vitamins.
The price hike is the latest blow to millions of consumer battling a cost of living crisis.
Inflation has hit a 40-year high of 9.1% as the price of everything from groceries to petrol soars. Many businesses are suffering from the cost increases too and are forced to pass them on to customers.
The typical price of a coffee in all hospitality venues has soared by 3.5 per cent to £2.88 since February while the average price at pubs and bars is up 4.4 per cent to £3.24 a cup.
In coffee and sandwich shops they are up 3.1 per cent to £2.94.
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And the hit is even bigger at the cheaper end of the market, with a brew from Greggs now up five per cent to £1.90.
However, Starbucks has bucked the trend with a 0.8 per cent fall, according to the Menu Tracker report by analysts Lumina Intelligence.
