Why are iced lattes so expensive compared to hot coffees?

When it comes to getting a caffeine hit, many coffee drinkers opt for an iced latte rather than a hot beverage — particularly during summer.

It's been a hot topic of discussion on social media in recent months, with posters reporting they have paid 67 per cent more for an iced latte than a hot one sold at the same cafe.

But why is it that iced lattes are often a costlier alternative than their hot counterparts, and is the price discrepancy justifiable?

Are iced lattes always more expensive?

Anecdotally, hot lattes costing less than their cold counterparts appears to be a trend that transcends geographical regions in Australia.

In the opening post of an r/australia subreddit on the topic, a forum poster tells of paying $8.50 for an iced latte at a cafe in Sydney's inner-west that sells large hot lattes for $5.10.

Others in the thread, as well as my colleagues, also report paying substantially more for cold coffee-based beverages.

Why do cafes charge more for iced drinks?

Cafe Culture Magazine managing director Sean Edwards points out that iced lattes are often priced higher because are typically served in larger cups.

"The average coffee is about eight ounces and your iced lattes are getting to around the 12–16-ounce mark, so you're probably getting a little bit more milk in the cup," he says.

He adds that making an iced latte can sometimes also interrupt a barista's workflow, which could be a contributing factor.

"As a barista, you're making coffee after coffee on the espresso machine and then all of a sudden, you've got to desert it and go to the ice machine, get some ice and a cup, some cold brew or shoot a shot," he says.

"You're probably going to be charged a bit of a premium for slowing things a bit.

"I suppose it's also the fact that if you've got an ice machine, the extra mucking around … that can cost you money sometimes, as well."

'It definitely doesn't take longer'

Blayke Lamb, the manager of a popular cafe at Mermaid Beach on the Gold Coast/Yugambeh Language Region, says his establishment charges the same price for iced and hot lattes and the beverages are served in the same size cups.

"Our [hot and cold] large lattes are [both] just the standard price, and then they go up if you have alternative milks and syrups and extra shots and all that sort of jazz," he says.

"It's the same amount of product, for instance, that goes into a hot coffee. It's still a double shot of espresso and then the milk."

Mr Lamb points out that by the time the milk is frothed for a regular latte, the volume used might be less than what goes into the same size cup to make an iced latte. But the process for making a hot beverage is often more time and labour-intensive.

"I'll go to some places, and they'll charge you $9 for an iced latte. Personally, I can't justify charging that much for essentially the same amount of product.

"It definitely doesn't take longer to make an iced latte — it's a lot quicker, in fact, so the labour that goes behind it, I don't think that's a reason as to why you should be raising the price on it."

Why cafe pricing can be fickle

Mr Edwards points out that price variations in the industry are often difficult to explain, and despite running coffee media publications and monitoring industry trends for more than two decades, it's always been difficult to discern "where the price should sit for a cup of coffee".

"There's no rhyme or reason sometimes in our world, and there are so many new operators. And with beverages, no-one ever sits down and works it out like you'd work out [prices for] a food menu," he says.

With no "steadfast rule" or industry-agreed standard price, new businesses will often look to others nearby to gauge what their prices should be.

In many ways, "how much should an iced latte cost?" is a bit of a "how long is a piece of string?" type of question.

The answer to whether you're getting bang for your buck when it comes to your morning cuppa — regardless of its temperature — is often determined as much by personal preference and what you're willing to pay as it is by any easily measurable metric.