The surprising location of a café selling espressos for just $2.50 revealed - despite skyrocketing prices

A New York City café is defying inflation and selling coffees for just $2.50 despite the cost of java soaring across the country.

Customers who once paid $2.15 for a regular coffee back in 2004 now face at least a $3.08 spend. 

The price of a cold brew hit $5.14 on average, while lattes come in at $5.46. In the Big Apple, the most commonly seen price tag for a standard coffee is $3.24.

But Casa Salvo - an Upper West Side café - is aiming to replicate the coffee culture of its owners' home country of Italy with fast and cheap espresso.

'I produce coffee, and coffee must be a drink for everyone, not something out of this world,' Sicilian chef and owner Salvo Lo Castro told The New York Post. 

Casa Salvo, an Upper West Side café, is serving up classic coffee drinks for only $2.50 despite the average price tag for a standard coffee in the Big Apple costing $3.24

Owner Salvo Lo Castro (pictured) aims to replicate the coffee culture in his home country of Italy and is able to offer his beverages at the affordable price because of a brand partnership

After moving to the U.S. in 2022, Lo Castro said he wanted to bring the quick and affordable café experience of Italy to the Big Apple.

'In Italy, the price of the coffee is cheap, and you arrive, drink the coffee and go,' Lo Castro said. 'I don't want people staying one hour for one coffee.'

Casa Salvo, located at 473 Amsterdam Ave. at 83rd Street, has no indoor seating and only boasts six tables outside.

Lo Castro is able to offer his beverages at the affordable price of $2.50 because he is a brand ambassador for Dokito, a Rome coffee supplier, that connects him with affordable beans.

The cheap java is a nice reprieve for New Yorkers who despite earning nearly six figures, still couldn't afford an apartment in the Big Apple in 2023 according to data.

The restaurateur plans to open a second location near Columbus Circle in July and insists he will not raise his prices.

'I will keep the set prices — even for the openings throughout 2025,' he said. 

Coffee prices have been soaring across the country primarily due to erratic weather patterns affecting coffee harvests in major producing countries like Vietnam, the second-largest exporter of coffee beans after Brazil. 

Coffee prices have been soaring across the country primarily due to erratic weather patterns affecting coffee harvests in major producing countries like Vietnam

A prolonged drought in Vietnam has significantly impacted the Robusta coffee bean harvest, crucial for espresso and instant coffee.

Since the 2023-2024 harvest in October, Vietnamese farmers have fallen short by 150,000-200,000 tons of contracted beans.

The shortfall has led to increased prices for consumers as supply struggles to meet demand.

Despite the rise in coffee prices over the long term, Consumer Price Index data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that coffee prices in the U.S. have fallen by about 2.5 percent compared to the same time last May. 

The most expensive state in the U.S. to buy coffee is Hawaii, where the typical cost of a regular blend is set at a hefty $4.98 - some 59 percent above the national average.