09/10/2026
☕ 30p. Apparently, that's what our little independent coffee shop is worth arguing over.
I've been debating whether to write this, but sometimes I think people need to hear what it's really like behind the scenes of running a small independent business.
Recently, someone complained about us increasing our prices.
Our latte has gone from £3.20 to £3.50.
That's 30p.
An increase of just over 9%.
And do you know what? It genuinely upset me.
Not because I don't understand that everyone is watching their money. Believe me, I do.
But because sometimes it feels like small independent businesses are expected to absorb every rising cost, keep smiling, keep delivering, keep employing people, and somehow never increase their prices.
We haven't increased our prices because we're suddenly making huge profits.
We've increased them because we're trying to survive. Not even thrive. Just survive.
Wages go up. Employer costs go up. Electricity goes up. Milk goes up. Coffee beans go up. Rent, insurance, maintenance… the list never seems to end.
And yet, somehow, when a small independent puts 30p on a latte, it becomes something to complain about.
The irony is that people will quite happily walk into Costa, Starbucks or Caffè Nero and pay considerably more for certain drinks without a second thought.
But when it's a little independent business, suddenly we're too expensive.
And that stings.
Because behind Jamocha isn't a faceless corporation.
It's real people. Real wages. Real livelihoods. A team who turn up every day, remember your orders, ask how your family is, and genuinely care about the people who walk through our doors.
It's an owner who worries about paying the bills, keeping people employed, and making sure there's still a business for everyone to come back to next month.
We're not asking anyone to pay more than they can afford.
We're simply asking people to understand that independent businesses cannot keep absorbing rising costs forever.
We don't have hundreds of stores to spread those costs across.
We have one little coffee shop, a hardworking team and a determination to keep going.
And sometimes, that means putting 30p on a latte.
So please, before criticising a small business for increasing its prices, remember there might be someone behind that counter doing everything they can just to keep the lights on.
Because that extra 30p isn't funding a lavish lifestyle. It's helping keep Jamocha alive.
And to everyone who continues to support us, whether it's a coffee, a cake, a lovely review or simply a kind word…
Thank you. You genuinely have no idea how much it means. ❤️
Love, the very human behind Jamocha ☕
