There’s a critical mass of all things Scandinavian at Greenpoint shop Búðin, which serves a licorice-flavored “lakkris latte.” That foam-art-topped drink’s original $7 price tag made everyone freak out, perhaps because it looked just like any number of similar specimens pulled and poured around town. But that’s not the case: The “Ethiopian beans sourced by Norwegian master microroaster Tim Wendelboe” are pricey, Brooklyn Based notes, and on-site assembly with a dwindling supply of licorice powder and anise syrup sourced directly from Denmark has now driven the price tag of the lakkris latte up to $10.
Coffee expert Oliver Strand reasons that because Budin’s beans are indeed rare and it’s likely that the shop isn’t making much money on the drink, $10 isn’t unreasonable, especially compared to steamed milky things at Starbucks that retail for $5. “Nobody is going to go to the desert and bury a barrel full of money made from selling licorice lattes,” Strand says.
Is There Any Explanation for a $10 Latte? [Brooklyn Based]
Related: Greenpoint Is a Little Closer to Greenland, With This New Nordic Coffee Shop [Bedford + Bowery]
