BREWING UP A STORM
S TARBUCKS has been identified as the meanest coffee shop on the High Street – for tea lovers!
The hot drinks giant charges people for just a few drops of hot water – and this is how they do it. Bigger cups – same size teabag
Starbucks charges 20p more for a medium (grande) tea than one of its small (tall) teas.
The only difference between the two, however, other than the price, is that you get a bit more boiling water – and a weaker cuppa! The same size teabag is used for both orders.
The difference between a small and a medium is 114ml, just over what is allowed to be taken onto a plane as hand luggage.
That amount of extra boiling water is costing customers 20p – or 1p for a few drops (5.7ml to be precise). What do Starbucks say?
In a statement the company said: “There are many factors that contribute to Starbucks pricing decisions and we do not discuss specific pricing plans or strategy.” Are there other offenders?
Other retailers that charged more for a larger size were Greggs and Canadian coffee shop Second Cup – which has a new Cardiff outlet. Second Cup charge 20p more for a large than a small. Jon Cullen, director of development for Second Cup, said: “All of our product comes from individual tea plants from across the world.
“We pay a fair and balanced price for the product and this reflects the price we charge our guests.
“The tea bags and loose leaf products are weighted to provide our guests with a full flavour cup of tea, whatever size cup they choose.
“The tea bag has sufficient tea to allow a guest to decide how strong or weak they take their tea and will satisfy whichever size cup they choose.” What about the other coffee shops?
Other coffee shops we asked in Cardiff charge a flat rates for tea with Costa and Brains-brewery-owned coffee chain Coffee #1 charging a flat rate for any size brew.
A spokesperson for Costa Coffee said: “Our brand standard for takeaway is to serve in a medio (medium) cup to allow more room in the cup when carrying hot liquids.
“If a customer wants a large cup of tea this is not a problem.
“We charge just one price and it is up to the consumer as to what size they would like. We do not see the need to markup the price of a large tea.” How can you get more bang for your buck?
The UK is the fifth biggest consumer of tea in the world with an average of over 2.7kg consumed a year per person. In Europe, only Ireland drinks more tea than us. For some sneaky tips for getting round those charging more for a bigger brew we spoke to Jordan Cox.
His official title is Coupon Kid at consumer website Money Saving Expert and he makes a living recommending great deals for consumers.
He said: “If you don’t want to pay extra for a large tea but still want the same quantity, you could always fill your tea up with more hot water when you are near a kettle.
“You can also grab a free tea with Waitrose’s Loyalty card – just go into most stores and flash your card for a free cuppa.
“Technically, retailers can charge whatever they want for their products, and can sneakily change them without warning – so I’d encourage consumers to weigh up the costs and find the best deal.”