Belfast among UK’s top 10 most expensive cities for flat white

Lovers of the espresso-and-steamed-milk drink in the NI capital pay an average of £3.54 per cup. That equates to £1,292.10 per year, or 4.8% of the typical Belfast citizen’s annual salary, if you buy one flat white per day here.

The flat white index compares average prices of the coffee drink to the average income in given cities in order to establish affordability.

The index rates Belfast against 90 other cities in the UK to produce its top ten least and most affordable locations.

It found that if a Belfast worker was inclined to spend their entire salary on flat whites, they could afford 25 a day, or 128 a week.

Cafés and coffee sellers have seen their cost of sales and business increase over the past three years.

Pressures on supply chains have made shipping ingredients produced around the world, such as coffee, notably more expensive, while high levels of inflation have pushed all costs upwards, from rent and staff pay to energy and higher interest rates on loans.

Michael Henderson, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Food To Go Association, said that coffee sellers had been hit particularly hard by the cost increases of recent years.

“The coffee scene, like every industry, took a big hit during Covid, but it is being hurt more by the cost increases since then,” he said.

“Northern Ireland has the highest business rates of anywhere in the UK.

“Added to that, the increases in food costs and the transfer of ingredients have hit coffee sellers.

“Increased labour costs are also hurting the industry.”

Mr Henderson added that the new post-Brexit trading arrangements had further hit coffee businesses margins.

“The costs are more in the transfer of ingredients across the Irish sea and Irish border. Things are now more time-consuming and there’s an additional cost to that.

“Small businesses should not have to be paying that.”

Outside of Belfast, the index rates Bristol as the UK’s least affordable place for a flat white. The average cost in the West Country city is £4.25, against the average salary of £28,430 a year.

That means that a Bristolian buying one flat white per day would spend £1,551.25, or over 5% of their earnings per annum.

The most affordable UK city for coffee enthusiasts was St Albans, where a flat white sets customers back £3.60 on a plusher annual salary of £46,000.

High Wycombe, in Buckinghamshire, and Southend-on-Sea, in Essex, came second and third, respectively.

Martin Stone, director of Tank, said: “Coffee and creativity go hand in hand, and as a digital PR agency we often pop out to our favourite local coffee spots for a quick takeaway or to catch up with colleagues and clients.

“The coffee industry is thriving, and here, in Nottingham, where Tank is based, we are surrounded by quirky, independent coffee shops and chains like the city’s own 200 Degrees.

“They each have distinctive branding, atmospheres, Instagrammable interiors and are a much-loved part of the business community.”