Coffee is getting noticeably more expensive in Bulgaria. Over the past year, the price of this popular daily beverage has risen by around 18%, according to Eurostat data comparing August 2025 with the same month in 2024. This increase, while significant, remains slightly below the EU average of 20.4%. Across Europe, coffee has become costlier, with Estonia seeing the steepest rise at nearly 41%, followed by Latvia at 34.2% and Sweden at 29.4%. In contrast, Portugal recorded the smallest increase at 10.6%, with Ireland and Malta also experiencing relatively modest growth.

In Plovdiv, luxury cafés along Main Street now charge 4 leva (2 euros) for a cup of coffee, with cappuccinos exceeding 6 leva. More modest cafés offer hot drinks for 2.50 to 3 leva. Meanwhile, in retail, a 250-gram package of Illy ground coffee costs around 22 leva, while Lavazza ranges between 14 and 16 leva.

Statistics show that the average Bulgarian consumes roughly 2.8 to 2.9 kilograms of coffee annually, highlighting the popularity of the drink despite rising prices.

Scientific research increasingly links caffeine consumption to skin health and the biological aging process, underscoring coffee’s broader significance beyond taste and alertness.

The rise in coffee prices comes largely as no surprise, driven by global factors such as droughts and adverse weather in major coffee-producing countries, including Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, and Indonesia. Like many other raw materials, the cost of production has surged, contributing directly to the higher prices seen in cafés and stores across Bulgaria.