The Italian Espresso Party?
Posted by TheShot on 31 Aug 2007 | Tagged as: Café Society, Foreign Brew
All is not well in the Italian Peninsula, and there are few things that can inspire Garibaldi‘s Redshirts to go marching again like the price of that all-important daily staple of life: the espresso. This week, the Milan-based national paper, Corriere della Sera, reported on the shocking surprise many Italians received upon their return from their obligatory August vacations: the price of an espresso now costs €1 in many major Italian cities. (Il caffè? Dopo le vacanze costerà un euro – Corriere della Sera.) This represents a sudden price-hike of between 20¢ and 30¢ per cup since the beginning of August.
In protest of the price hikes, Italian consumer associations are calling for a national boycott of espresso at bars across Italy on September 13. The papers are calling it, “lo sciopero della tazzina” (the “strike of the coffee cup”: «Il caffè a un euro? Sciopero della tazzina» – ViviMilano). September 13 also marks the date for a more general shopping strike to protest the price increases in other staples such as bread, pasta, milk, and train tickets.
Industry groups have countered that the price of a caffè at an espresso bar has not risen for five years, and hence the price hike is inevitable and necessary (Milano prepara il caro-tazzina: caffè a un euro – ViviMilano). They have denied some consumer claims of an espresso cartel. Meanwhile, the Italian business association Confesercenti has taken a different tactic — providing research showing that prices have remained relatively unchanged ( Prezzi: Fiepet Confesercenti, “evitare allarmismi, nessun cartello per aumentare la tazzina di caffè” – Confesercenti Italia. Sito Ufficiale).
Tempest in a tea cup? Wait until the Italian Sons of Liberty get their hands on some espresso…
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