my favourite supermarket buy

something reliable in a world where iceberg lettuce prices are up by 20%

March 13, 2022

Welcome to clipboard, a weekly newsletter about cool shit and Tāmaki Makaurau, by Reilly Hodson. This week, I’m talking about the Boss Coffee Iced Long Black, my favourite thing to buy at the supermarket.

like a boss

When Metro Magazine relaunched after a pandemic-induced hiatus, I begged them to let me write an article, and what resulted was this piece about the price of coffee.

After spending a period of time working for cafes and hospitality institutions, it had become pretty clear that, despite people complaining about how much coffee costs, for those selling it, it feels like it’s priced at a much lower level than it should.

Still, when I tell people that there isn’t much margin in a $5 flat white, they’re surprised, and it’s a conversation which has come back up again and again.

Recently, the food newsletter Vittles wrote about it with much more skill and consideration than I could. It boils down to this view of coffee as a commodity product that we pay for, rather than the result of highly skilled labour that people get paid from. That’s why I’m happy to pay more $7 for a filter coffee at Daily Daily, or $5.50 for a shot of espresso poured over some ice.

It can’t be escaped, though, that sometimes you just need a coffee, and if you don’t have the benefit of a full espresso machine at work like I did when I was a barista, or a fancy set up at home, there is nothing that can beat the $3 Boss Coffee Iced Long Black.

There are plenty of things that the Japanese do better than almost anywhere else: denim, toilets, beer, ceramics. When I went to Japan (in another time), one of those things which struck me was the can of heated Boss coffee I bought at a convenience store. Hot, mass-produced, coffee in a can! Remarkable stuff.

When they brought it to New Zealand, I jumped at it, and based on the stock levels at Countdown Ponsonby, I’ve not been the only one.

If you want an excellent coffee, you’ll have to pay up (and so you should), but if you want a perfectly good coffee, you can’t find a better deal than the Boss. Particularly when iceberg lettuces are at record prices, housing is ridiculously expensive, and petrol is apparently going to $4/litre, sometimes you need to economise, and that’s what it allows.

Smooth, not overly bitter, cold and without any added sugar, the Iced Long Black is an awesome product. If I was in charge of the grocery order at my office, I’d be filling the fridge with the stuff.

When everything feels a bit shit, and boy does it, little regular joys that don’t cost much have to be savoured, and for me, that’s the Boss.

clips

That’s all for clipboard this week, thanks for reading! Stay safe, take care of yourself, and I’ll see you back here next week. If you enjoy clipboard, share it with your mates!