I can understand coffee shops charging more for takeaway cups as these cost money and it is a business decision (Coffee shops should avoid exploitation in the name of sustainability, April 6).

However, I have come across stalls which charge 10 cents more for kopi-o gao (strong black coffee) just because of a little more coffee and less water. By the same token, what about customers who ask for kopi-o pok (light black coffee)? Shouldn’t they charge less?

While iced coffee costs more because it needs to be more concentrated as the ice melts and dilutes the drink, it makes no sense to charge more for strong coffee.

There are also shops that charge 10 cents more for coffee, citing the recent increase in potable water prices. The increase is 50 cents per cubic metre (1,000 litres) of water, implemented over two phases, with an increase of 20 cents per cubic metre from April 1.

You can get about 5,000 cups of coffee from 1,000 litres of water, so the increase of 10 cents a cup, in just the first phase of the water price hike, amounts to profiteering.

The authorities need not form an anti-profiteering committee to look into this, but they can work with coffee shop associations to rein in such profiteering.

Meanwhile, coffee drinkers should just buy from shops with competitive prices or, better still, make their own coffee with instant powder.

Richard Cheng