What a cup of coffee really costs a bar (and what it says about your margins)
Coffee has a reputation as the most profitable thing behind the bar. And partly it is: but only if the price is set from the real cost of the cup, not from what the bar across the street charges.
Updated 15 October 2026 · 6 min read
Why coffee looks so profitable
A kilo of coffee costs a few euros and makes a lot of cups, so at first sight the margin looks huge. The problem is that this sum only looks at the beans. It forgets the milk, the sugar, the cup, the water, the electricity for the machine and the minutes of bar time every serve takes. The food cost of a coffee isn't just the coffee.
Costing one café con leche
Here's a standard white coffee at the bar, the *café con leche* that sells at around €1.60 in many Spanish bars:
| Item | Quantity | Price | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coffee beans | 7 g | €30/kg | €0.21 |
| Milk | 100 ml | €1.10/L | €0.11 |
| Sugar and napkin | €0.03 | ||
| Ingredients per cup | €0.35 |
Sold at €1.60, that's a food cost of 0.35 / 1.60 = 21.9%, which looks excellent. Bear in mind the €1.60 includes 10% VAT: excluding it, the price is €1.45 and the real food cost is 24%. And on top of the ingredients come the costs that decide whether a bar makes money or not: bar time and fixed costs spread across every cup.
The cost almost nobody includes
Wear on the machine, servicing, descaling and the electricity to keep it on all shift are also part of the cost of a coffee. In a busy bar they get diluted across thousands of cups; in a quiet one they weigh far more per cup than you'd think.
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Cost my recipeWhy bar food cost isn't enough
A coffee is served in seconds, but a customer sitting on the terrace for an hour takes up a table that could have turned over two or three times. So a bar's real profitability doesn't depend only on the food cost of each product: it also depends on table turnover, average spend and how many serves go out per hour of bar staff.
To price with judgement, and not by copying the bar on the corner, the method is the same as for any dish: start from the real cost and apply the target food cost you need to cover staff, rent and bills. It's the same calculation as in how to cost a recipe, and it works the same for a cup of coffee as for a set menu.
Bar margins versus kitchen margins
In a typical Spanish bar, the bar side (coffee, beer, soft drinks and mixed drinks) usually runs a lower food cost than the kitchen, because the ingredients are cheaper and there's less preparation. That means the bar often carries part of the margin the kitchen, with more staff and more waste, doesn't always deliver. It's why many bars with a tight kitchen make it work on bar volume, and why watching the cost of every drink matters as much as watching the cost of every dish.
- Check the price of coffee and milk every time your supplier changes it: they're among the ingredients that move most.
- Don't set your price only by comparing with the competition: start from your real cost.
- Count milk waste (what's steamed and poured away) if you use a steam wand.
- Count bar time when the serve includes latte art or slower drinks: that's cost too.
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Try gramo freeFrequently asked questions
- How much does a café con leche really cost a bar?
- Counting coffee, milk, sugar and a napkin, the ingredient cost is usually around €0.30-0.40, depending on the coffee and the price of milk. On top of that come wear on the machine, electricity and bar time, which aren't always counted.
- Why does coffee have a reputation as the most profitable item?
- Because its ingredient cost is very low compared with its selling price. But that figure ignores the other costs of the serve (machine servicing, bar time, waste), which bring the real margin down.
- How do I know if my bar is profitable beyond the coffee?
- Look at the gross and net margin of the whole business: income from every product, minus the cost of ingredients, staff, rent and bills. The food cost of one product, like coffee, is only one piece of the calculation.
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