What is a good food cost percentage for coffee drinks?

Espresso-based drinks typically run 12-20% food cost — much lower than food, because coffee and milk are cheap relative to the price customers accept for a made-to-order drink.

Why is milk more expensive than coffee in a latte?

A double shot of espresso costs roughly $0.30-0.40, while 10oz of milk for a 16oz latte costs $0.35-0.50 depending on milk type. Oat and other alternative milks can push this higher, up to $0.80-1.00.

How much should packaging add to a to-go coffee price?

Cup, lid, and sleeve for a 16oz drink typically cost $0.25-0.40 combined. If your to-go price matches your for-here price, you are absorbing that packaging cost out of margin.

Café

How to Price Coffee (Espresso Drinks): Food Cost Breakdown & Menu Price Guide

Last reviewed: July 28, 2026

Short answer

Coffee (Espresso Drinks) typically runs a food cost of 12–20%, supporting a menu price of $4.50–$6.50 (16 oz latte) depending on portion size and ingredient quality. A worked example below shows the exact math for one common version.

What Drives Coffee (Espresso Drinks) Cost

Espresso beans

10–18% of cost

Surprisingly small share of total cost for milk-based drinks

Milk

25–40% of cost

The largest cost driver on lattes and cappuccinos

Cup, lid, sleeve

20–30% of cost

Often larger than the coffee cost itself on to-go orders

Syrup / flavoring (if used)

10–20% of cost

Adds cost fast if pumps aren't standardized

Worked Example

Ingredient	Amount	Cost
Espresso (double shot)	2 shots	$0.35
Whole milk	10 oz	$0.40
16oz cup + lid + sleeve	1 set	$0.32
Total ingredient cost		$1.07

Target Food Cost

18%

Suggested Menu Price

$5.94

Actual food cost: 18.0%

Common Pricing Mistakes

Not costing packaging separately from the drink

Cup, lid, and sleeve can be 25-30% of a to-go latte's total cost. Leaving packaging out of the calculation makes every to-go drink look more profitable than it is.

Free-pouring syrup instead of standardized pumps

Uncounted syrup pumps are one of the most common sources of drink-to-drink cost variance in cafés. Standardize pump counts per size.

Pricing flavored drinks the same as plain ones

A vanilla latte with 3 pumps of syrup costs meaningfully more than a plain latte. A flat $0.50 upcharge across all flavors ignores that syrup costs vary.

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