{"id":312818,"date":"2025-11-28T19:03:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-28T19:03:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/312818\/"},"modified":"2025-11-28T19:03:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-28T19:03:10","slug":"how-much-coffee-prices-have-risen-since-1985-in-one-chart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/312818\/","title":{"rendered":"How much coffee prices have risen since 1985, in one chart"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coffee prices were already rising following poor harvests last year when the U.S. added new tariffs on coffee imports in April. Those tariffs have since been rolled back<\/a>, but prices at grocery stores and caf\u00e9s are still high, leaving many shoppers wondering why a simple cup of coffee costs so much.<\/p>\n

As of September, roasted coffee sold in stores cost about 41% more than it did 12 months prior, rising from an average of $6.47 to $9.14 per pound, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While prices can swing by roughly a dollar within a year during volatile periods, the nearly $3 increase in the most recent BLS data is unusually steep \u2014 and consumers are taking notice.<\/p>\n

“This is ridiculous,” 52-year-old Chuck Smith said in a TikTok video<\/a> in August in which he showed receipts for the 38.2-ounce tub of Maxwell House ground coffee he buys at his local Walmart in Indiana, which had nearly doubled in price to $21.44 in under a year.<\/p>\n

Smith says he filmed the clip spontaneously in the grocery aisle after noticing the price hike. “It was just me in the moment,” he told CNBC Make It<\/a>, adding that the reaction “captured what a lot of folks are feeling.” Walmart and Kraft Heinz, the maker of Maxwell House, did not respond to requests for comment. <\/p>\n

Other brands, including Nespresso<\/a> and Folgers<\/a>, have also increased prices in the last year.<\/p>\n

Restaurant coffee prices have risen, too: The average cost of a regular cup increased from $3.46 to $3.57 in the year ending October 2025, according to restaurant and caf\u00e9 price data<\/a> tracked by menu software company Toast.<\/p>\n

What’s behind the biggest coffee price spike in decades<\/p>\n

The run-up in average retail coffee prices has been the steepest and most sustained since BLS began tracking those prices in 1980, the data shows.<\/p>\n

Weather issues came first. Drought and heavy rain disrupted harvests<\/a> in Brazil and Vietnam in 2024, tightening supply well before tariffs took effect.<\/p>\n

Coffee futures prices then climbed from roughly $2 a pound in May 2024 to a peak of $4 by April 2025, one of the steepest increases the market has seen in decades, according to Intercontinental Exchange data<\/a>. Because futures serve as the benchmark for what importers and roasters pay for beans, sharp increases often lead to higher costs, which may eventually show up in retail prices.<\/p>\n

Tariffs are another factor. In April, the U.S. imposed new tariffs on coffee imports \u2014 10% on key coffee-growing Latin American countries and about 20% for Asian growers, with Brazil hit hardest at 50%. Since then, grocery-store coffee prices have risen about 21%, according to consumer price index data.<\/p>\n

In mid-November, the White House rolled back most of the new coffee tariffs, eliminating duties for nearly all producing countries except Brazil, which retained a 40% tariff. Last week, the administration removed the remaining 40% duty<\/a> on Brazilian coffee as well, effectively ending tariffs on coffee imports from almost all major exporters.<\/p>\n

Because retail prices typically lag wholesale costs<\/a>, it may take time before any easing shows up on store shelves. Still, removing tariffs should eventually help take some pressure off prices, according to the National Coffee Association, an industry trade group.<\/p>\n

“Significant coffee price inflation has occurred during the time tariffs have been in place,” a spokesperson for NCA tells CNBC Make It. “Removing tariffs on the world’s leading coffee producing countries is expected to significantly decrease costs.”<\/p>\n

Black Friday sale: Want to up your AI skills and be more productive?\u00a0Get 25% off our most popular course of the year, How to Use AI to Be More Successful at Work<\/a>, with coupon code GETSMART. Offer valid Nov. 17 through Dec. 5, 2025.<\/p>\n

Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It’s newsletter<\/a> to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life, and request to join our exclusive community on LinkedIn<\/a> to connect with experts and peers.<\/p>\n

\"I