The Latte Index – How Much Is A Cup of Latte in Asia Pacific?

Caffe Latte

Just like the Big Mac Index that was created by The Economist almost three decades ago, the prices of specific food and drinks around the world reflect the purchasing-power parity (PPP) and the cost of living of the city or country.

People are increasingly becoming interested and appreciative of a good cuppa, and a fantastic go-to beverage wherever we travel to is always a lovely hot latte.

Of course, there is a very stark and obvious price fluctuation between these major cities and they do in fact, reflect the cost and standard of living in that city itself. In this light-hearted article, we explore the prices of a cup of latte from a cafe or coffee house from 10 major cities in Asia Pacific.

So just How Much is a Cup of Latte in Asia Pacific? Let us find out in this latte index.


SUMMARY OF THE LATTE INDEX


Auckland / Average price: NZD$4 = SGD$3.70
Bangkok / Average price: THB40 = S$1.50
Beijing / Average price: RMB35 = S$7.40
Hong Kong / Average price: HK$30 = S$5.50
Kuala Lumpur / Average price: RM10 = S$3.30
Melbourne / Average price: A$4 = S$4
Seoul / Average price: W4,500 = S$5.50
Singapore / Average price: S$6
Taipei / Average price: NT120 = S$5.30
Tokyo / Average price: ¥320 = S$3.824

Flavoured Latte

*For all the cities mentioned, we took an average price of three major coffee houses and cafes per city to calculate the generic average.


#1 AUCKLAND


With plentiful dedicated roasteries and chic cafes, we sure can tell that they take their coffee seriously in NZ.

Average price: NZD$4 = SGD$3.70

Karmakamet brunch


#2 BANGKOK


Despite the jarringly lower price tag, we know for a fact that the cafes in Bangkok do not skimp on good coffee. One of our favourite Asian cities for a cuppa!

Average price: THB40 = S$1.50

analog-coffee


#3 BEIJING


Over the past few years, China’s capital saw the opening of many exciting third-wave coffee specialty establishments.

Average price: RMB35 = S$7.40

Elephant Ground Hong Kong


#4 HONG KONG


Indie cafes, coffee chains and all, Hong Kong is a great place for coffee lovers to gather to sip latte together.

Average price: HK$30 = S$5.50

pulp kl


#5 KUALA LUMPUR


The Malaysian cafe scene is slowly but steadily growing, with more unique and beautiful cafes popping up very frequently. Third wave coffee is also starting to popularise.

Average price: RM10 = S$3.30

Melbourne Coffee


#6 MELBOURNE


We don’t even have to explain much, because Melbourne is synonymous with the world’s best coffee.

Average price: A$4 = S$4

Ikovox Coffee


#7 SEOUL


Seoul is home to some of the best cafes in the world, and coffee is one of the many reasons to love Seoul’s cafes.

Average price: W4,500 = S$5.50

Caffe Latte


#8 SINGAPORE


Singaporeans love specialty coffee, and with more new cafes roasting their own beans and upping their latte art game, a good cuppa ain’t hard to find.

Average price: S$6

Taipei Coffee


#9 TAIPEI


The Taiwanese do love their coffee too, and Taipei has pretty amazing lattes too.

Average price: NT120 = S$5.30

Tokyo Best Coffee


#10 TOKYO


Of quirky coffee houses and the prettiest cafes, the Japanese city has so many specialty coffee places to boast!

Average price: ¥320 = S$3.824