Coffee isn't like filet mignon or cashmere sweaters — most coffee drinkers consider it a daily necessity and keep buying it even when prices spike. And prices are definitely spiking, with a 22 percent jump just during the past year. But they aren't about to take their beans and go quietly.
According to the Wall Street Journal, social media is practically percolating with grouchy caffeine addicts as they point to $18 cans of Folgers and $10 lattes.
While tariffs from the Trump administration contribute to higher costs in the U.S., coffee drinkers abroad are experiencing sticker shock, too, thanks to bad weather in the world's coffee growing regions that drives bean prices ever-higher.
In fact, tariff uncertainty might be driving up the cost of your entire breakfast. According to Forbes, egg prices have risen more than 10 percent in the past year, bacon prices are five percent higher, and the humble banana jumped six percent.
Higher coffee prices might even aggravate Congress into working together to find a solution. Lawmakers introduced bipartisan legislation to exempt coffee products from tariffs. Caffeine addiction, it seems, is something that truly brings everyone together.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
