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COFFEE
Spryntera · Economic Series

The
Price
of Coffee

You walk into a café. You order a flat white. You pay €3.00 and think nothing of it.

This is the story of everything that happened before that cup reached your hands — and everyone who paid so you wouldn't have to.

€3.00
What you pay
for a flat white
in a European café
125M People depend on
coffee for income
1–3% Share reaching
the farmer
7 Hands that touch your
coffee before you
Score: 0
Your Decision
← Spryntera Your Receipt
End of the Chain
Spryntera · Economic Series
The Price of Coffee
Where did your €3.00 go?
Chain Stage Amount   Share
🌱 Ethiopian farmer €0.03–0.06 ~2%
🏭 Processing mill €0.03 ~1%
🚢 Export & shipping €0.06 ~2%
🔥 Roaster (Europe) €0.15 ~5%
🛒 Distributor & retail €0.30 ~10%
☕ Café (rent, wages, milk) €1.80 ~60%
📈 Brand & corporate margin €0.60 ~20%
TOTAL PAID €3.00
Farmer's share of your €3.00 ~€0.05
Your Ethical Score
The Verdict
Discussion Questions
  1. The farmer earns ~€0.05 from your €3.00 coffee. Who is responsible for changing this — the consumer, the brand, or the government?
  2. You made choices in this game about convenience vs ethics. How do those choices reflect your real purchasing behaviour?
  3. Fair trade certification adds cost but guarantees minimum farmer wages. Why do only 5% of coffee consumers actively seek it out?
  4. If the full ethical cost of coffee were priced in, your cup might cost €6–8. Would you still buy it? Who would be priced out?
Sources & Further Reading
01 Global commodity pricing & farmer income — Talbot, J.M., Grounds for Agreement: The Political Economy of the Coffee Commodity Chain (2004). Rowman & Littlefield.
02 Fair Trade certification & farmer wages — Dragusanu, R., Giovannucci, D. & Nunn, N., "The Economics of Fair Trade," Journal of Economic Perspectives, 28(3) (2014).
03 Greenwashing & third-party certification failures — Conroy, M.E., Branded! How the Certification Revolution is Transforming Global Corporations (2007). New Society Publishers.
04 Shipping emissions & climate policy — Bouman, E.A. et al., "State-of-the-art technologies, measures, and potential for reducing GHG emissions from shipping," Transportation Research Part D, 52 (2017).
05 Corporate tax avoidance & profit shifting — Zucman, G., The Hidden Wealth of Nations: The Scourge of Tax Havens (2015). University of Chicago Press.
06 Precarious labour & zero-hours contracts — Standing, G., The Precariat: The New Dangerous Class (2011). Bloomsbury Academic.
07 Consumer behaviour & the intention–action gap — Carrigan, M. & Attalla, A., "The Myth of the Ethical Consumer," Journal of Consumer Marketing, 18(7) (2001).
08 Individual vs systemic responsibility in ethical consumption — Barnett, C. et al., Globalizing Responsibility: The Political Rationalities of Ethical Consumption (2011). Wiley-Blackwell.
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