Spain's 'Paco breakfast' becomes a luxury: churros and milk prices soar

Churros at caviar prices: the Spanish breakfast is now a luxury item

Rising prices have reached breakfast. What used to be a cheap, everyday ritual — coffee with milk and churros — has become an expense many now consider a luxury. Figures circulating these days suggest that the typical Spanish breakfast, known as the "desayuno Paco", now costs more than 4-5 euros in many bars, and in large cities churros with chocolate can set you back 5-6 euros.

How much does breakfast in a bar cost now?

In Madrid, a coffee with a small baguette or churros comes to around 2.80-3 euros, but adding chocolate pushes the bill up to 5-6 euros. One reported case: 4.80 euros for a coffee with a skewer of Spanish omelette with gulas and prawns. Another customer says he asked for 3 euros' worth of churros and got four pieces in a tiny bag. The menu del día (fixed-price lunch menu) has also become pricier: a bar that kept its menu at 11.75 euros has raised it to 12.5, while in the area menus already run around 16-17 euros.

Cocoa, the new luxury

Chocolate and sugar were once luxury goods, and it seems we are returning to that era. Cocoa prices have soared, and products containing it are getting more and more expensive. One analysis points out that cocoa products are cheap because of the little cocoa they contain and the abundance of sugars and fats, but the price of cocoa itself has risen. Natural vanilla is also expensive, and products that imitate it use additives.

Where does the blame lie: the government, inflation or lifestyle?

Explanations vary. Some blame socialism and hyperinflation, others point to money printing, and some even suggest intermittent fasting as a solution: skipping breakfast saves money and, according to some, is healthier. Others recall that in the 1990s it was promised the future would be cheaper, and now we see it is not. A churro vendor in one neighbourhood blamed Pilingui for the rise in sunflower oil prices — an anecdote that illustrates how an external culprit is always sought.

The truth is that eating breakfast out has become a luxury. At these prices, the "desayuno Paco" is no longer for everyone. The question is whether this trend will reverse or whether the traditional breakfast will become a memory of another era.