Editorial: Coffee too big a luxury

The number of New Zealanders buying coffee has plateaued, prompting calls for cafe operators to target new markets to ensure more growth in the market.

A study by market research company Roy Morgan suggests our cafe coffee drinking habits are slowing - so much so, the Aussies now drink coffee at similar rates to us.

Five years ago 4 per cent more New Zealanders were buying takeaway coffee or tea compared with Australians.

To me, this doesn't seem odd at all. I don't know about other coffee drinkers but the last thing I feel like doing on a stinking hot day is drinking coffee. There's why Australians have been slow to take up the culture - it's too hot over there.

Add to that New Zealand's hot summer and our economic climate of late. When you're paying so much more for things such as petrol, groceries and power, it's no wonder the luxury of cafe coffee is one of the first things to go.

I've got a mate who was drinking up to three cafe coffees a day while at work. That's $12 a day, $60 a week. When "the Mrs" found out how much money was going out of the family budget, it's no wonder he was quickly tasked with going through cold turkey to kick the habit. Now he just drinks the odd one on a special occasion and has invested in an office coffee plunger.

My guess is he's just one of hundreds, probably thousands, of former cafe groupies who are now reining in their spending.

While it's good for local businesses to have a thriving coffee culture, I think there are more essential things many people could be spending their money on right now.