Rising Coffee Prices

Rising Coffee Prices

MASON CITY,IA-Many of us start our day with a nice cup of coffee but increasing coffee prices might have you drinking a little less.

Coffee drinker Diane Deike says, "I’ve been drinking coffee for over 37 years. I drink it every day, need the caffeine buzz.”

Coffee drinker Richard Olson says, "every day I drink at Jitters, then I drink at Pros."

These coffee drinkers say they haven't really noticed the higher prices.

But it may be their love of the drink that is blinding them, because the price they pay has already gone up.

Deike says, "it won't be a huge rise not like the price of gas."

A combination of rising world demand and poor harvests in Colombia, Brazil and Latin America has caused a shortage of high-end Arabica coffee beans.

That's likely what's causing the increase.

The International Coffee Organization reports that Arabica coffee prices have risen more than 46 percent over the past six months.

That’s a 34 year high.

But the added expense may be slower to hit smaller establishments.

Olson says, "I’m not sure whether it would affect them as much as it would a big shop. You know where they've got a lot of overhead and turnover."

Local coffee shop owners say they try not to pass the extra expense on to the customer, but at some point they have no choice.

But these coffee lovers say paying more for their brew won't scare them away.

Deike says, "oh I’ll always drink coffee. Oh absolutely. I'll cut other things before I cut out my coffee."

The price of Arabica coffee is now $2.97 a pound.

Coffee traders expect prices to soar past $3.40 a pound and force roasters to raise retail prices again.