Economics Masterclass for Years 12 and 13: The £3.50 coffee – who really gets your money?

Booking Deadline:

12 October 2026

In this interactive masterclass with staff from the SOAS Department of Economics, you will uncover the global story hidden inside an everyday cup of coffee.

 

A flat white might cost £3.50, but how much of that actually reaches the farmer who grew the coffee beans? By tracing coffee from farms in the Global South through exporters, roasters and cafés, you will explore how money, power, and risk are distributed across the global economy.

 

During the masterclass, you will investigate questions such as:

 

• Who really profits from a £3.50 cup of coffee?
• Why do the people who grew coffee receive such a small share of its final price?
• What environmental and social costs are missing from the price we pay?
• How do history, gender and power shape global supply chains?
• What can different economic perspectives tell us about whether the system is fair, and how it could change?

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