Soaring Coffee Costs Push Roasters to Find New Suppliers

After doubling in price over the past year, the most popular type of coffee bean now costs $4.30 a pound, the most it has ever cost. Because of this rise, many Americans now think of a daily cup of coffee as a treat.

A lot of people remember when coffee was only worth $1.10 a pound, says Kerry Mayfield, owner of Tierras Planas Roasters in Southeast Lubbock. "When I first started, it was ten dollars," he said, emphasizing how much the price had gone up.

The rise is caused by a number of things, such as changes in the economy, unstable governments, and problems caused by climate change. Brazil, which grows the most coffee in the world, had a very bad drought that cut down on harvests. This limited supply and made prices go up even more. Mayfield said, "When something goes wrong in Brazil, it affects everyone because everyone scrambles to get coffee somewhere else."

Coffee roasters are having a hard time keeping their profit margins steady as prices go up. "The stress is on all of us," Mayfield said. "To get through this without having to drastically raise prices, most of us are cutting our profit margins as much as possible."

To deal with rising costs, Mayfield has changed how he gets his beans. He now buys them from Guatemala and Mexico, where they are cheaper. "To keep prices low, we've had to change, using different importers and looking into new markets."

Even though the coffee industry is trying to keep price increases to a minimum, supply chain problems are still a problem. This means that both businesses and customers should expect prices to go up at their favorite coffee shops.

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