If you’ve walked into a café lately and done a double-take at the price board, you’re not alone. I know I have. I live in Brunswick, Melbourne, which is the biggest coffee suburb I can think of. Drip coffee everywhere, beanies and loose jeans fill the streets, and the cost of coffee is on the rise.
We’re entering an era where your standard morning coffee is nudging dangerously close to $8, and specialty brews (think single origin pour-overs, oat milk magic lattes or “house-roasted artisanal blends”) are already hitting $9 to $10 a cup. INSANE! That’s not some far-off future headline. It’s already happening in parts of Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast.
The $10 coffee is no longer a joke. It’s just... Monday.
For many Aussies, this is more than a mild inconvenience. Coffee isn’t just a drink here... it’s a daily ritual. It’s how we start the morning, how we socialise, how we mark a pause in a busy day. But when that habit starts costing $70 a week, or $3,650 a year, it begs the question:
Is it time to find a cheaper way to wake up?
Why Coffee prices are increasing so fast in Australia
Let’s be clear: cafés aren’t price-gouging. They’re doing what they have to in order to stay afloat. I feel bad for them, they do a lot to support our day to day, and run on extremely slim margins...
-
Coffee beans themselves have become more expensive due to global supply chain issues, climate disruptions in Brazil and Africa, and increased demand.
-
Labour costs are rising across hospitality, paying baristas fairly (as they should be) adds to your cup cost.
-
Rent, milk, packaging, electricity... everything has gone up.
-
And if you’ve been to a decent café, you’ll know they’re often not cutting corners. You’re paying for quality.
The real cost of that daily brew
Let’s break it down.
Say you buy one $7 coffee every weekday.
That’s $49 a week.
$196 a month.
$2,352 a year.
Add in the occasional second cup, a weekend brunch brew, or the times you shout a mate, and that number gets closer to $3,000–$3,500 annually.
That’s a return flight to Europe!
And this isn’t just about finances. There’s another cost worth talking about; your energy.
Does Coffee actually make you feel good?
Most people drink coffee to feel more awake. But ask around, and you’ll hear a familiar pattern:
“I can’t function without my morning coffee… but by 2pm I’m cooked.”
“It makes me jittery, then I crash hard.”
“I’m wired, but I’m still tired.”
That’s not productivity... that’s dependency.
Coffee doesn’t give you energy. It blocks the signal in your brain that tells you you’re tired. It’s borrowed time. And eventually, your body calls in the debt, with interest.
The result? Mid-arvo crashes. Anxiety. Sleep issues. That creeping feeling that your brain’s running faster than your body can keep up. And the kicker: you often need more coffee to feel the same effect over time.
We’ve normalised all of this. But it’s worth asking... is this really the feeling I want every morning?
A different way to start the day
Here’s the good news: there’s a growing movement of Australians who are breaking up with coffee, and not because they hate it, but because they’ve found something better... and cheaper.
A gentler way to start the day. One that doesn’t spike your cortisol, mess with your sleep, or cost $7 a hit.
You’ve probably seen a few people on your feed talking about mushroom coffee, or functional blends, stuff with lion’s mane, cacao, reishi or ashwagandha. They’re designed not just to wake you up, but to support your focus, clarity and mood throughout the day.
Some of them even taste rich and earthy, almost like a hot choc with a deeper kick. And best of all? They cost under $2 per cup.
You don’t have to go full wellness-warrior. You don’t have to throw out your keep cup. But swapping out just a few coffees a week could save you hundreds, maybe thousand, a year, and your nervous system might actually thank you for it.
Why Aussies are making the switch
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer here. But here’s what a lot of Aussies are discovering when they try something different:
-
More stable energy: no crash, no jitters, no wild heart rate before your 10am meeting.
-
Improved focus: ingredients like lion’s mane and L-theanine are known for helping with mental clarity.
-
Less anxiety: many adaptogens help regulate stress and mood, without the spike in cortisol.
-
Better sleep: especially when you're not hammering your system with caffeine at 3pm.
-
Huge cost savings: seriously, $2 vs $7 is a no-brainer.
Brands like Earthrise are at the forefront of this shift in Australia, and not just because of their ingredients, but because they actually understand the assignment. It’s not about being anti-coffee. It’s about being pro-you.
And if you’re already spending $300 a month on takeaways, it might just be worth giving your morning routine a second look.
This isn’t about cutting out Coffee, it’s about choice
Coffee isn’t going anywhere. It’s still a beautiful ritual. It brings people together. It smells amazing. But with prices climbing, energy crashing and our nervous systems stretched thin, it’s worth asking: Is there a better way to do mornings?
The $10 coffee might soon become the new norm. But that doesn’t mean you have to go along for the ride.
Try something different. Even once or twice a week. Maybe you’ll hate it. Maybe you’ll love it. But maybe (just maybe) you’ll realise that you don’t need coffee to feel like yourself in the morning.
You just need a little something that works with your body, not against it.
You can try a mushroom coffee starter pack with 35% off. Pretty great. Give it a crack.
