Fuel for thought: Coffee, Conversations and the Cost of Living
In coffee shops, where ideas flow as freely as lattes, today’s biggest debates often circle back to the rising cost of living. As petrol prices climb and coffee culture thrives, the value we place on everyday essentials comes into question—proving that sometimes perspective is best served over a cup of coffee.
Good coffee shops are conversation hotspots, much like the hairdressers or your favourite watering hole. A place where much needed sober discussions take place on the hot topics of the day, where you get to over-hear varied opinions and solutions on volatile current affairs.
The recent buzz has surrounded the ever escalating conflict in the Middle East and it’s impact on our petrol price, I do grin and chuckle internally when I see two people caressing a R55, 400ml cinnamon and honey latte, debating how utterly ridiculous R23.36 for a litre of petrol is.
While this is not the platform for lamenting geopolitical policies and the rights and wrongs thereof, nor the inner workings and costs of oil refinement. We do seem to have our priorities on liquid consumption slightly warped. With a litre of petrol now costing just slightly less than a reasonably priced Americano, yes, both will start your engine, I’m of the opinion that the Americano gives me more of a boost for the day, not in kilometers but in ambition, motivation and alertness for the day – value cannot be measured in milage alone.
I have started to convert values, much like you do on an international holiday (Which I am repeatedly told you shouldn’t do) however it gives you a relative sense of value. My starting point is that one fairly priced Americano equals one litre of petrol, an acceptably priced burger is roughly 4 litres of petrol. This process will have you feeling that petrol is either reasonably priced or that other items are ridiculously inflated.
I know it’s not that simple and the cost of petrol impacts everything when it comes to production and delivery and it’s one of the main drivers of inflation, it does though give you fuel for thought over your next cup of coffee.
