Higher quality requirements in cultivation, selective manual harvesting, smaller quantities, fair prices for farmers, and careful drum roasting in small batches. A 250g bag costs 10–18 euros—per cup, often cheaper than a coffee-to-go.

Why does specialty coffee cost more than supermarket coffee?

Higher quality requirements in cultivation, selective manual harvesting, smaller quantities, fair prices for farmers, and careful drum roasting in small batches. A 250g bag costs 10–18 euros—per cup, often cheaper than a coffee-to-go.

Why that is

Supermarket coffee costs 8–15 euros per kilo. Specialty coffee 40–70 euros per kilo. The price difference has concrete reasons at every stage of the supply chain.

In cultivation:

• Selective harvest: Only ripe cherries are picked—by hand, often in multiple passes. Commodity coffee is harvested by machine or in a single pass, regardless of whether the cherry is ripe or not.
• Higher altitudes: Specialty coffee often grows at 1,200–2,200 m altitude. Steep slopes, more difficult logistics, lower yields.
• Processing: Careful fermentation, controlled drying, multiple sorting passes—all this takes time and labor.

In trade:

• Fair prices: Specialty roasteries often pay the farmer 2–5 times the world market price. This isn’t a luxury markup, but rather allows the farmer a sustainable income.
• Smaller quantities: Not a container full of an anonymous blend, but 30–300 bags from a specific farm.
• Transparency: Traceability costs money—every bag is documented.

In roasting:

• Drum roasting: 12–20 minutes per batch, individual roast profile for every bean. Industrial roasting: 2–5 minutes at extreme heat, hundreds of kilos at once.
• Small batches: 5–30 kg per roast instead of 500+ kg.
• Quality control: Cupping every batch, adjusting the roast profile.

The math per cup:

	Supermarket coffee	Specialty Coffee
Price per kg	~10 €	~50 €
Coffee amount per cup	12 g	12 g
Cost per cup	~0.12 €	~0.60 €
Coffee-to-go	—	3.50–5.00 €

60 cents per cup for specialty coffee at home—less than any cafe chain charges.

In practice at Green Wall Coffee

At Sophienstraße 27, we’re happy to explain the price: 60 cents a cup for coffee that secures a fair income for a farmer, is artisanally roasted, and tastes better than anything from the supermarket. That’s not a luxury—that’s a fair price.

Related questions

• What is specialty coffee?
• What is Direct Trade and why is it considered fairer?
• What is the difference between Fairtrade, Direct Trade and Rainforest Alliance?

Stop by Sophienstraße 27 — Mon–Fri 8am–5pm, Sat 10am–5pm.