The Rising Cost of Coffee

As coffee prices continue to rise, we know that it feels like it's you, our customers, who feel the pinch. It’s almost a year to the day that we last announced a price increase, so we’re very aware this may feel like a common theme. So, here is why are they going up again and why we hope you can still support us.

The Commodity Market
Coffee prices are related to the value on the commodity market, whether they’re sold on the market or not. Green coffee prices have risen 100% in the past year, and are expected to stay high throughout 2026. This surge is due to a shortage in global production which most people agree can be attributed to climate change, especially in Brazil.

When the market rises, costs go up:

• Cooperatives are now setting higher minimum payments for farmers, aligning with the global market price.

• Labour costs increase, even for smaller producers. Rising commodity prices push up wage expectations.

• All stakeholders (producers, mills, cooperatives) face greater expenses because it’s necessary to borrow more capital to finance costlier transactions.

Unlike previous fluctuations, this one very much feels like it’s here to stay. The scale of the growth now means commercial coffee is now trading at or above specialty prices, closing the gap that once set specialty apart. This means you’ll see prices going up across the board, from big chains to independent roasteries - it’s just a case of when for each business, depending on their stocks. 

What’s interesting with these prices is we begin to question specialty vs commodity. If your reason for buying our coffee was solely because we talk about paying fair prices, why continue to pay more if fairer prices are being paid as common practice? 

Taste & Quality
The most obvious point to raise here would probably be taste and quality. We’ve always backed our coffee as some of the best in the country and think maintaining this will be the hallmark of a good roastery in 2026. That’s not just us, but all good roasteries that care about maintaining standards over profit or expansion. The easy option would be to default on old contracts or move away from old producers in favour of lower-grade coffees from the big exporters, passable as “specialty coffee” whilst being distinctly average in all other aspects.

The second point would be that we really believe paying fair prices is the bare minimum and in that sense, a relatively low bar to set. The exciting thing for us is supporting producers who are doing way more than just earning a reasonable living. This could be to do with financial sustainability but equally it could be environmental stewardship, women's rights, LGBT or supporting indigenous communities. These are all fantastic projects and groups we can support through coffee and the common theme is quality. Each producer or group is taking the extra steps to produce exquisite coffee and using that as a vehicle for change. 

How and when we buy coffee
We’ve spent years building relationships with suppliers and origin partners that we’re committed to. While it’s easy to watch the coffee prices go up and down, it’s not as simple as that when it comes to buying coffee. 

Harvest: The time when producers need support most. They’re paying labour for wages when they have the least cash flow and often need contracts in place to get the finance they need from banks. We don’t have the luxury of waiting for the market to drop. If we played that game, we’d be negatively impacting the people in our supply chain and almost certainly the pickers of their farms. 

With all of our key partners, we basically ask what the producers want, or what the exporter needs, and that’s the price we pay. We know the prices are fair and relative to the external factors around them. We have trust in each and every origin partner we have - it’s something we’ve spent years building.

Transparency
For clarity and honesty, here’s a breakdown of our average green coffee costs for our house range. This is the price of green coffee landed in the UK, before any of our costs are added (logistics, roasting, labour etc). 

2024: £5.64 p/kg 

2025: £6.64 p/kg (17% increase)

2026: £7.59 p/kg (14% increase)

So what’s the good news?
For the first time in my memory, coffee farmers and (hopefully) many of the farm workers will be receiving a livable wage. This should be across the board, from commodity to specialty, supermarket to farmers' market. It goes without saying, we wholeheartedly support this and hope it continues for years to come.

On our side, we’re doing everything we can to reduce the impact on you, while maintaining the standards we’re so proud of. We’re very proud to say we’re not wavering on our commitment to 1% for the planet or being a progressive employer. The cost rises are not changing the way we do business - we’re happy to talk about every decision and we’re confident those decisions are justified. 

We’ve included cost transparency in this journal because we want to be clear that our prices will come down again if the costs do too. Given the nature of commodities & market demands, the commodity price will come down at some point, although this could be 1, 2 or 3 years away.

The prices are set to increase on 9th February. We thank you for your understanding and continued support, especially in a time when every penny counts. If you’d like to reach out and discuss any questions you have further, please feel free to contact us via email.