Climate change is making coffee more expensive. Tariffs likely will too

By MAX CONWAY Rochester Institute of Device and CEDAR ATTANASIO Associated Press ROCHESTER N Y AP With her purple-and-pink hair swaying Rene Col n stands on a stepladder in the rented corner of a warehouse pouring Brazilian coffee beans into her groaning old roasting machine The beans are precious because they survived severe drought in a year when environmental conditions depressed coffee production globally doubling the price of raw beans in just months Renee Colon co-owner of Fuego Coffee Roasters works at her roasting facility Friday March in Rochester N Y Max Conway via AP Unfortunately coffee is going to become more scarce noted Col n founder and roaster at Fuego Coffee Roasters Seeing that dramatic loss of the Brazilian crop is a perfect example Losses from heat and drought have cut production forecasts in Brazil and Vietnam the world s largest coffee growers Global production is still expected to increase but not as much as commodity territory investors had expected That s sent coffee prices up largely because of continued high demand in Europe the U S and China Prices peaked in February but have remained high forcing roasters like Col n to weigh how much of that cost to absorb and how much to pass on to consumers Anderson Miller left and Claire Terrelli right make coffee at Fuego Coffee Roasters in Rochester N Y Saturday March Max Conway via AP The beans Col n was roasting cost her per pound in early March more than double what they cost in September And that was for mixed midrange beans Specialty coffees grown in delicate climates to slow advance and add flavor can cost even more President Donald Trump s current tariffs cover the majority coffee-producing countries including Brazil Ethiopia and Colombia and are expected to drive up costs for Americans Amid his chaotic tariff pronouncements at one point he threatened tariffs on Vietnam imports and on Indonesia imports before pausing them American coffee roasters are rethinking their supply chains With all these changes in coffee maybe we should open our own damn farm Col n muses Rural New York isn t an option of syllabus The world s best coffee thrives near the equator where seasons are long and in high altitudes where slow growing allows beans to gather flavor But Puerto Rico where Col n and her husband have roots isn t a serious option either labor costs are too high and she worries about the increasing menace of crop-damaging hurricanes She shrugs off buying coffee from Hawaii and California which she says is either poor quality overpriced or both In February global coffee green exports were down from a year earlier according to the International Coffee Organization s sphere summary The shortage led to the highest price ever for raw coffee in February latest the record set in when severe frost wiped out of Brazil s coffee plants Setting isn t the only thing driving up prices stated Daria Whalen a buyer for San Francisco-based Ritual Coffee Roasters Inflation is driving up the cost of labor fertilizers and borrowing she disclosed A couple of espresso drinks sit on a counter at Fuego Coffee Roasters Saturday March in Rochester N Y Max Conway via AP She described being in Mexico in April seeking to finalize contracts between Trump s fits and starts on tariffs It reminded her of being in Colombia a month earlier as Trump threatened and then backed away from tariffs that would have affected coffee prices It was kind of like roller coaster day because at the end of the day it didn t exist Whalen explained Certain of the fresh rise in coffee prices may be from importers buying extra in anticipation of the tariffs Col n believes prices will go still higher as import taxes begin being paid And with consumer confidence hitting a -year low Col n could see a decrease in demand for her premium coffee It is tough on our end because it drives the price up tough on the consumer end because they have to pay more and tough on the farmers end because they may be experiencing really substantial losses Col n noted Yet she s committed to expanding In December she and her husband took out a loan to buy a custom coffee roaster from Turkey that will triple ceiling They re trying to increase sales by adding new wholesale clients like coffee shops and selling directly to homes via a beans-of-the-month-style subscription amenity The Col ns have raised the wholesale price on a pound of roasted beans by cents They re considering doing the same for pour-overs and espresso drinks at their two retail locations At one of those called Melo one couple explained they don t look at the coffee s price on the receipt For them it s a treat Related Articles Trump s tariffs loom over the market as shipments from China fall World shares are mixed as strong corporate earnings are offset by tariff worries GM recalls nearly Cadillac Chevrolet and GMC cars due to engine failure risks First accuser takes the witness stand at Harvey Weinstein s MeToo retrial Take It Down Act addressing nonconsensual deepfakes and revenge porn passes What is it We know we could go find coffee cheaper somewhere else commented Rob Newell a high school biology instructor as he held a cooing infant daughter alongside his wife who is also a facilitator Maybe it s just because we re new parents but you get like cabin fever staying in the house all day Col n is also seeking to cut costs The warehouse where she roasts has various extra space so she s weighing stacking up more bags of raw beans there to save as much as on monthly storage costs in port cities She s tried to cultivate relationships with farmers to minimize price spikes and control bean quality She described working with a farmer in Colombia as coffee prices were spiking in February to lock in a one-year contract that avoided the worst of the increase And like multiple small business owners she s had to get used to the complexity of tariffs In January she turned down a pitch from a Montreal coffee importer who suggested the U S dollar s strength in Canada would allow her to save money by importing through their warehouse She feared that tariffs on Canada could increase prices Plus the coffee would have to cross an extra confines risking delays And the value of the dollar has been up and down I want things to be less complicated instead of more she stated EDITOR S NOTE This story is a collaboration between Rochester Institute of Apparatus and The Associated Press The Associated Press weather and environmental coverage receives financial promotion from multiple private foundations AP is solely responsible for all content Find AP s standards for working with philanthropies a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP org