Coffee prices are all over the place as the market responds to about a million different factors, and it has left many wondering what the impact will be on the consumer and how they will respond. And it is in these uncertain times that journalists turn to one trusty sector of the coffee drinking public: people in the country of Italy.
The latest journalistic institution to check in to see how Italians are handling the potential for not-so-cheap espresso is none other than the New York Times, who recently ran with a very even keeled headline, “Want to Panic Italians? Jack Up the Price of Espresso.” The exercise is not without its merits. As the article notes, nearly 75% of all Italians drink coffee at least once a day, and the ritual is so engrained in the culture that before World War I, the Italian government allowed municipalities to set prices on basic necessities, like bread, and espresso from a coffee bar was one of them. Even with the price setting measure was lifted, few bars in Italy raised their prices, in fear that customers find another source.
Thus prices have been kept artificially low, which is now having to contend with a resurgent coffee market. The Times notes that an espresso in Italy averages €1.16 ($1.74 USD), according to a 2025 analysis by a non-profit consumer rights organization, which is up 11.5% from two years prior. That’s still incredibly cheap. Some coffee bars have had to increase the ratio of less expensive robusta in their blends in order to keep up with the demand for a low price.
It’s a building tension, between coffee bars trying to not go out of business and customers whose demands are growing more and more untenable. And if anyone is going to be sensitive to price fluctuations, it is going to be the cheap-espresso-as-a-human-right contingent of the Italian coffee drinking public. Which is by no means all Italian coffee drinkers—there is a growing and quite excellent third wave coffee movement across Italy we have written about extensively on Sprudge. Roasters and customers at these shops are happy to pay significantly more for the coffees they serve and purchase, all of which is ignored by this NYT story.
The price of coffee is a complex issue, involving the livelihoods of individuals who have historically not been paid fairly for their work, and from whom many have benefitted. Including the consumer. So is the person who puts price over everything, even one where espresso in of great cultural significance, the voice we should seek out on the matter? Not to put too fine a point on it, but it matters about as much as the person upset their Folgers crystals just went up $.50.
Maybe the more nuanced take is going to come from someone who loves coffee, would prefer it not to be too expensive but understands why it needs to be. I’m sure someone at Ditta Artigianale would give you a thoughtful quote on the subject, including some insightful commentary on the historical importance of espresso in Italy and the crossroads at which it currently sits.
All I’m saying is, it’s multi-faceted. Certainly more complicated than trying than pushing “panic” on Italians who demand a €1 espresso no matter what else is happening in the world. This is a one-sided view of coffee, and Italy, and coffee price fluctuations, and all the rest of it. Sometimes we write about a coffee article on Sprudge because we loved it, and sometimes we write about a coffee article on Sprudge because we hated it, or felt it lacked nuance, or came away feeling like it was once more the billionth example of mainstream coffee writing getting the topic howlingly wrong. This one was more like that.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
