The big Christmas coffee rip-off – and why your gingerbread latte is getting even more expensive

The cost of a high street cup of joe is skyrocketing – and especially during the Christmas season. As ludicrously pricey menus arrive in shops crammed with festive flavours, Olivia Petter asks: why does a simple squirt of caramel waffle syrup burn such a hole in your wallet?

Ho-ho-how much? The mark-up on seasonal cups is astonishing (Getty/iStockphoto)

The festive season starts at a different time for everyone. For some, it’s always the day after Halloween; pumpkins out, tinsel in. For others, it’s when Christmas decorations start lighting up their local high street. And for everyone else, it’s when the coffee shops change their menus. You can’t avoid it: overnight the options go from standard latte fare to oversized, over-sweetened, over-caffeinated – and severely overpriced – Christmas coffee madness.

What used to be a light touch – say, the addition of an eggnog latte – has now become an entire market in its own right, with different, more ludicrous and expensive variations on the classic cuppa added each year. This silly season at Pret a Manger, you can pick up a “caramelised almond latte” or a “maple pecan latte” for a whopping £4.40 (my local Pret a Manger in south London charges £4.65). Meanwhile, the regular latte starts at £3.80; that’s almost an entire pound in difference. And for what exactly? A few pumps of syrup? Some sprinkles and some cream?

The same liberties are being taken across the board. At Costa, London prices for a small gingerbread and cream latte were found to be £4.50, according to research carried out by the Allegra Group, which analyses the coffee industry, while a normal latte is £3.80. You also have the option to customise your beverage there, by paying 60p for a single pump of syrup and an additional 60p for cream.

One of the biggest differences in prices, though, is at Starbucks. According to Allegra’s findings, in London branches you can pick up a short eggnog latte for £4.65 versus a regular short latte for £3.20. The eggnog latte is made by combining Starbucks espresso with a specially prepared eggnog mixture, steamed to serve warm, which means it doesn’t contain flavoured syrup.

Still, these are vast differences, particularly when you consider the fact that most of these drinks are made using a 700ml syrup bottle, as is the size most coffee shops buy, comes at 10ml per shot. So, if you’re charging 60p each time, it amounts to a £42 consumer charge for the bottle.

“These are indulgent drinks so they’re going to have a pricing rationale, as it will be based on a cost-plus basis,” explains Jeffrey Young, CEO and founder of the Allegra Group. “On one side, you could see it as opportunistic; when people are in a festive mood they’re more likely to spend more on something that’s indulgent. It’s likely the additional flavourings are no more than 20p, though it could be a lot less than that.”

Obviously these drinks have more ingredients going into them and presumably also take longer to make, so it makes sense they’re going to be more expensive. But surely paying close to £5 for a single hot drink – not even in a large size! – is absurd. The prices, though, reflect a wider normalisation of paying significantly high costs for takeaway coffee, particularly if (like me) you live in London. And if your drink is Christmas-themed or otherwise.

It’s likely the additional flavourings are no more than 20p, though it could be a lot less than that

Jeffrey Young, CEO and founder of the Allegra Group

At my local Gails, a regular mocha costs £4.50. At my local Black Sheep Coffee branch, I can purchase a blueberry matcha latte for a whopping £4.79 – a large would be £5.19. The festive options there are even more ludicrous, by the way: a regular-sized gingerbread latte is £5.29. Yes, it comes with whipped cream and Biscoff crumbs. But really? That’s almost double what I’d pay for a 227g bag of ground coffee in the supermarket that could make me copious cups at home. And I’m sure I could find the right whipped cream and syrup within that price range, too.

How did we get to a point where any of this is remotely acceptable? If you were to have the audacity to take your purchasing one step further, and buy a Christmas sandwich alongside your hot drink, you’d be looking at a bill that’s well over £10. “Christmas presents a chance for coffee operators to make some higher margins while people are celebrating, so they’re commercial in their approach,” explains Young.

This may have always been true, but it arguably stings a little more now than it used to. The cost of living crisis is raging on into this winter, rents are skyrocketing across the UK, and salaries are plateauing in many industries. What’s even worse is that it’s already the most expensive time of year. What with buying presents, getting yourself to and from various Christmas parties, and possibly spending money on things to wear to them… we’re all going to be looking at a somewhat bleak and broke 2025. And we can’t even buy ourselves a jolly little Christmas drink to feel better about it without breaking the bank.

Christmas coffees have become one of the biggest seasonal indulgences (Getty/iStockphoto)

The sad truth is we’ve been heading this way for a while. Like so many other small joys, what used to be a basic necessity – buying a coffee in the morning on your way to work – has become a luxury. It’s a treat. An indulgence. Something we have to find an excuse for rather than simply doing without thinking. And that’s even more true at this time of year, when retailers take advantage of our willingness to spend high in search of festive fun, branding anything and everything with snowmen or red ribbon in order to get us to part with our pennies.

My advice is to skip the Christmas drinks this year. Frankly, they’re far too sweet and sickly, anyway. Your money will almost certainly be better – and more merrily – spent elsewhere. And if you really must get your fix? Well, you can buy your own bottle of gingerbread syrup at most supermarkets for under £5 and dispense it at your discretion. Bah humbug.