Coffee: an espresso costs over 1.4 euros in 11 cities. It costs more in Bolzano and less in Messina
The Centre for Consumer Research and Training, in collaboration with Assoutenti, has carried out a new study on the price of a standard cup of coffee: an espresso at a café in Italia now costs almost a quarter more than it did five years ago
Key points
An espresso at a café in Italia now costs almost a quarter more than it did five years ago. This figure comes from the Centre for Consumer Training and Research (C.r.c.), which, in collaboration with Assoutenti, has carried out a new study on the price of the classic cup of coffee, analysing the latest price rises affecting coffee throughout 2026.
An espresso costs 25 cents more than in 2021
Based on official data from the Mimit collected across the various Italian provinces, it appears that an espresso costs an average of 1.29 euros in Italy, 25 cents more than in 2021, representing an average increase of +24.2 per cent, although trends vary significantly depending on the region of Italia.
The most expensive coffee in Bolzano
Bolzano remains the city with the highest price, at 1.51 euros per cup, followed by Pescara at 1.49 euros, but a total of 11 provinces have reached or exceeded the psychological threshold of 1.4 euros per coffee (Ferrara, Belluno, Ravenna, Trieste, Parma, Trento, Padua, Treviso and Udine).
... and the cheapest one in Messina
At the other end of the scale, Messina is currently the cheapest city, with an average price of 1.06 euros, closely followed by Catanzaro (1.08 euros); together with Aosta, Syracuse, Varese, Rome and Pistoia, these are the only provinces with a price below €1.20.
Pescara sees the sharpest rise
However, if we analyse the trend in coffee prices at cafés over the last five years, we find that the sharpest rise was in Pescara, where the price of a cup has risen by +49 per cent compared with 2021, followed by Parma (+41 per cent), Bari (+39.5 per cent) and the home of coffee, Naples (+37.8 per cent). The provinces with the smallest increases are Aosta, which has seen a rise of just 6.7 per cent over five years, and Cagliari, Biella and Reggio Emilia, with price rises of around 15 per cent – adds the Centre for Consumer Training and Research.
