A life less coffee

So, the powers that be at the ‘Singapore United Cooperative of Kopi’ (SUCK) have decided to raise their Java juice by 10 cents or more. This is a blow to the many [tag]coffee[/tag] drinkers who are weened on the [tag]caffeine[/tag] rush daily in a bid to stay sober enough to be productive for the good of the economy. Especially coming after they banned poppy seed buns, the other alternative fix… With the recent [tag]budget[/tag] handouts, it seems that the kopitiams have come together to plunder from the very people whom the government have targetted to benefit the most; namely the lower income families.

Take a typical Sunday for example, Low Income Family Example (LIFE) decides to go slow and spend quality time together. LIFE goes for their weekly marketing in the morning, buying the week’s groceries from the cheapest stalls in the wet markets.

Mother of LIFE: “Uncle, this kang kong can cheaper anot ar?”
Uncle: “This one very cheap already lei, i never make much liao”
Mother of LIFE: “I every week also buy from you lei, can la…”
Uncle: “Gahmen give you money already lei, never give me much. You buy i give you some tau gay free la.”

And so LIFE saves a few cents here and there, pleased with the morning so far. They go for their breakfast at the kopitiam (Lai Hock coffee stall, Come Everyday Kopi, etc) and you can imagine their dismay when they find out the price rise. For a family of four, that easily translates to 40 cents more at least. So what was given, will also be taken away by the same measure, and then some. Result: LIFE gets screwed.

Then there are those living the high life who frequent the coffee joints (Starbucks, Coffee Bean, Spinelli, etc)to chill out with friends. They are unaffected by the budget payouts (not much anyway), nor are they affected by the price hike. Paying over 5 times more for a cuppa that has half the kick might not make much economical sense, but it happens over and over again. Some that do not want to admit they are being fleeced will retort that the full body flavour and aroma of the [tag]arabica[/tag] beans makes the purchase of their Americano worth it. Others claim the richness of the crema in the Latte as proof of their shrewd taste.

However, if you put them to a [tag]Pepsi[/tag]-esque challenge, more often than not, you find them falling short and picking the stronger [tag]robusta[/tag] beans coffee that are served in kopitiam all over the island. So since the reason for the price increase in the kopitiams are due to rising costs of coffee beans, sugar and milk, why does it not rise in the coffee joints? Perhaps they use tea leaves, salt and cheese? Or perhaps they have fleeced us long enough to let the kopitiam have a go at us. Or perhaps, its all an illusion; we give you, but we take from you elsewhere.

That would go a long way to explain things.