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What’s the most you would pay for a cup of coffee? For most people, it wouldn’t be upwards of £5, and it would have to be a really good one. But one London spot is asking people to shell out more than £200 for just one cup of joe. That’s right, speciality coffee bar Shot is selling a brew for an eye-watering £265. It’s Britain’s most expensive coffee.
This is no ordinary espresso. Shot sources the extortionate blend from Okinawa, an island in Japan. The beans are of the Japanese typica variety, and have been in production on the island since 2015.
On the menu, Shot describes the ‘exquisite coffee’ as ‘reflective of the deeply-held Japanese value of striving for perfection’. Deep-pocketed customers looking to be caffeinated into a higher plane can order the drink as an espresso, macchiato, flat white, americano, cappuccino or latte. It even comes in a fitting gold coffee cup. It’s giving Salt Bae’s gold-covered steak a run for its money.
The coffee shop also serves other expensive house specials including a £70 Savannah Zombie made from Haitian beans, and a £32 brew from St Helena’s Wrangham Estate.
Three-time UK barista champion Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood said the the exorbitant price may be because of the scarcity of coffee grown in Japan. He told the Telegraph: ‘Hardly anyone grows coffee in Japan. It typically grows in the tropics – either side of the equator – it’s very hard to grow in places like Japan and probably needs a lot of help.
‘Rarity is obviously sought-after in coffee, and most of the “fancy” coffee people drink is all arabica. Typica, which is what is used here, is not the most sought-after variety of arabica – I’ve never seen a typica that expensive before – which suggests the value is coming from the fact that it’s grown in Japan.’
Baristas at Shot told the Telegraph it's ordered ‘two or three times a week’.
Don’t they know there’s a cost of living crisis? Better not drink it too fast!
For brews that won't break the bank, here’s Time Out's list of the best coffee shops in London.
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