Keep your cool

Everybody chill: Here’s why iced coffee costs more than a hot coffee

Say what you will, but the discrepancy between the price of a hot coffee and that of its iced counterpart is one of life’s great mysteries.

We are not, of course, talking about the Jamaica Blue definition of an iced coffee here. If you, a grown adult, are willingly asking for a drink that includes not just ice cream but whipped cream as well, and then whining at the $9 price tag, all I will say is, you brought it (and the inevitable lactose intolerance) upon yourself.

We’re talking about what is literally a cup of ice (made from water – which is free last I checked), one or two shots of coffee, and the addition of milk.

Why it comes at a cost that will shut me out of the housing market for good is a global question for the ages, or at least since 2012, when New York Magazine ran an investigation titled: “The Iced-Coffee Economy: Why the Cold Stuff Costs More.”

The piece concluded the higher price is driven by a number of factors, including different brewing techniques that entail a more tedious process.

“Like the hot stuff, cold brewing involves mixing pulverised beans with water, but the latter process requires about twice as much ground coffee,” it explained.

“Those grounds infuse filtered water for 12 to 24 hours, creating iced coffee concentrate. That liquid is cut with water to taste, at a ratio of about one to one. Yet even after all this dilution, a cup of coldbrewed joe can include 62 cents worth of ground coffee. A hot cup might include 35 cents worth of beans.”

While the Australian Bureau of Statistics doesn’t monitor the price of takeaway coffee, as part of its March quarter reading in 2022 it found grocery-bought coffee, tea and cocoa rose 8.2 per cent year-on-year. Store-bought coffee rose 6.9 per cent compared to the previous December.

Packaging and straws also contribute to cost.

Want to discover more delicious drinks? Scan or visit delicious.com. au/drinks