MILAN – The folks at ValuePenguin, a research firm that helps consumers understand the value of their purchases, created a so-called Latte Index, which outlines the average amount a pre-made coffee costs around the world.
Using Euromintor International, which provides data on global products, and taking into account additional data from the World Bank, ValuePenguin was able to rank the Starbucks prices in 44 different countries. The results are surprising.
Russia tops the chart, with the average Starbucks tall latte in Russia costing as much as $12.
In Southeast Asia, the prices are still pretty high — hovering near $8 — but as you might expect, all the way down at the bottom of the list you’ll find Canada, the U.K., and the United States, where a daily latte — considered a necessity by plenty of people in this part of the world — costs just under $3. (By the way, the most expensive cup of coffee in America comes from Extraction Lab, and it’s a whopping $18.)
ValuePenguin’s Consumer Content Editor Paul Reynolds suspects that these high prices underscore what a luxury Starbucks is in other parts of the world — one that most Americans probably take for granted. Reynolds also thinks that the chain represents an “embodiment, perhaps, of American affluence and indulgence” abroad.
Their findings contrast with the price of beer around the world, which is relatively cheap in comparison to coffee, especially in the Eastern European countries of Slovakia and Ukraine, where you can get a beer for around $1.65.
The average beer in New York will set you back about $5.
Though if you’re a beer lover looking to go abroad, it’s probably best to skip a visit to Lausanne, Switzerland, where a single beer will cost you $17.60.
Elisabeth Sherman
