$50 combo leaves Tokyo coffee fans cold

TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - Japanese consumers have long had a love affair with luxury goods, but could $50 for a cup of coffee, with fancy trimmings, be too much to ask?

Salon du Cafe Boissier, a luxury cafe in Tokyo introduced a limited offer menu on Thursday combining a cup of Bourbon Pointu coffee -- beloved of author Honore de Balzac and monarch Louis XV -- with champagne and chocolates for 5,250 yen ($49.57).

A day later, there were still no takers, although some customers did order coffee beans at close to $70 for 100 grams.

A spokesman for the shopping centre where the cafe is located, said it was too soon to give up.

"It's only the first day," he said.

Recent data show Japanese are spending less on goods and services because of stagnant wages and rising costs for basic goods.

Last year saw the launch of several luxury promotions aimed at the growing class of super-rich, including a $15,000 diamond martini and a $108 hamburger, reminiscent of Japan's 1980s "bubble economy" when the newly rich showed off their wealth with fast cards and lavish parties.

($1=105.90 Yen)

(Reporting by Mari Saito, editing by Miral Fahmy)