How to price Christmas drinks in a cafe
12 November 2026 · 5 minute read
A Christmas menu is the easiest price rise of the year. Customers expect a gingerbread latte to cost more than a latte, and most will happily pay it. The catch is that the syrup, cream and sprinkles cost more than they look, so a 50p premium can leave you making barely more than on a plain latte, on a drink that takes twice as long to make.
The prices below are examples. Put in what you pay.
1. Cost the drink, line by line
Here's a 12oz gingerbread latte with two pumps of syrup, whipped cream and a sprinkle on top.
| What goes in | Sum | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Coffee, double shot | 18 g of a £22 kilo bag | 40p |
| Milk | 280 ml at £1.30 for 2 litres | 18p |
| Gingerbread syrup | 2 pumps (20 ml) of a £6, 70 cl bottle | 17p |
| Whipped cream | A £2.40 can tops about 16 drinks | 15p |
| Sprinkle or crumb | A pinch | 3p |
| Cup and lid | 12oz, takeaway | 11p |
| Total | £1.04 |
A plain 12oz latte is the coffee, milk and cup: 69p. So the festive version costs 35p more to make, half of it in syrup and cream.
2. See where the money goes
Hot drinks carry 20% VAT all year round, takeaway or not. If you're VAT registered, a sixth of the menu price goes to HMRC. Here's a £3.70 latte next to a £4.20 gingerbread latte.
Latte, 12oz£3.70
Gingerbread latte, 12oz£4.20
The extra 50p loses 8p to VAT and 35p to syrup and cream. That leaves 7p for a drink that needs more steps, more cleaning and more patience, in the busiest month of the year.
3. Choose a price
Aim to make at least as much in pounds as on a plain latte, plus a little for the time it takes. The GP percentage will be lower than on a latte, and that's fine. Pounds pay the wages, not percentages.
| Price | Profit per drink | GP | Against a £3.70 latte |
|---|---|---|---|
| £4.00 | £2.29 | 69% | 10p less |
| £4.20 | £2.46 | 70% | 7p more |
| £4.40 | £2.63 | 72% | 24p more |
| £4.60 | £2.79 | 73% | 40p more |
£4.40 to £4.60 for a 12oz is a fair place to start. If that feels steep for your customers, keep the price and make the cream an extra. Charged at 50p, cream makes you 27p after VAT, and the drink without it makes £2.61 at £4.20.
4. Watch the pumps
Each pump of syrup costs about 9p. A barista who adds a third pump "because it's Christmas" turns 7p of extra profit into nothing. Agree the recipe before December: how many pumps for each size, how much cream, which topping. Pin it up by the machine.
The same goes for the hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows. A heaped scoop more of chocolate and a big swirl of cream can add 20p to a drink you priced in October.
5. Plan for January
- Buy syrup to last until Christmas, not beyond. A 70 cl bottle is about 70 pumps, or 35 drinks. Count what you have each week from mid-December and stop reordering when it'll see you through.
- Use up what's left. A half bottle of gingerbread syrup in January is £3 on the shelf. Put it in a January special or a staff drink rather than the bin.
- Mince pies and VAT. A cold mince pie to take away is zero-rated, like cake. Warm it up, or serve it to eat in, and it's 20%. Our VAT quick table has the rest.
6. Check it with your own numbers
Put your syrup, cream and milk prices into the free GP calculator before the menu boards go up. Then look at your till's item sales after the first week to see how many festive drinks you're really selling.
Quokka does both for you. Add the gingerbread latte as a recipe, syrup and cream included, and it works out the cost from your latest supplier prices. Each night it reads your Square or Zettle sales and shows what every festive drink made you that week, so you know which ones earn their place on next year's menu.