Bay coffee drinkers least likely to cut back

Many Bay coffee drinkers have no qualms over forking out their hard-earned cash for their daily fix, with a new survey showing residents in the region are the least likely to cut back to save money.

Canstar Blue surveyed 1846 Kiwis about their coffee habits over the past six months.

The results revealed Bay of Plenty residents were the least likely to restrict their cafe coffee intake to save money with only 35 per cent of Bay of Plenty respondents saying they had.

Aucklanders and 30 to 39-year-olds were most reliant on coffee to help them get through the day, Canstar New Zealand general manager Jose George said.

The Bay of Plenty Times spoke to a random selection of local baristas about their customers' coffee habits.

With a small flat white or cappuccino costing about $4 in Tauranga it quickly adds up - that's $28 week or $1460 a year.

Grindz Cafe owner Lesley Graham said she did not drink coffee but was not surprised by the survey results.

"If you sell nice coffee people won't think twice about buying a cup.

"People are prepared to pay for quality, and not think too much about price, nor how much they are spending a week."

Mrs Graham said some of her customers visited the cafe two to three times a day for their favourite brew.

"For a lot of people having a coffee, either alone or with friends, was part of their daily routine," Mrs Graham said.

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Grindz staff member Celaya Tatana, who has been a barista for almost five years, said customers expected their coffee to be made the same way each time.

She said the quality of the coffee was more important than the price of a cup.

There were no signs of people wanting to cut back on getting their daily fix, she said.

Cafe Alfresco and Cafe on The Strand owner Malcolm George said some customers had tried to cut back but often returned to their old daily habits after a few months.

"Many of our customers are regulars and some come in two or three times a day."

Tauranga Budget Advisory Service manager Diane Bruin said there was no doubt the cost of coffee and takeaways was hitting people's pockets.

Ms Bruin said when the agency sat down with clients who were wanting to save, one of the first things advisers did was to look at their bank statements and analyse their eftpos transactions.

One couple the service was helping to save up for a deposit to buy a house was spending $15 a week on take-out coffee and takeaways, she said.

Ms Bruin said cutting down on cafe purchases and takeaways was definitely one way people could significantly cut their spending.

Cafe on 10th Avenue manager Jacqui Waller described many customers' coffee habits as being part of their "daily diet" and quite a few popped in two or even three times a day for their fix.

Ms Waller said even in the recession period, there were no signs of people cutting back on their flat whites or cappuccino.