Oregonians Noticing Cost Of Coffee Spikes As Tariffs Settle In – CoffeeTalk

Portland residents are facing an inevitable increase in coffee prices, with many high-end, locally roasted beans that have made Portland one of the best coffee cities becoming more expensive. Arthur Rich, one of more than a dozen coffee drinkers interviewed, is one of those who believes that if coffee prices keep going up, there will be a point where he switches to tea and has coffee as a treat.

Many of the specialty beans that Portland area residents say make the region so special are among the priciest items on their grocery lists. In some cases, the price has exceeded $25 per pound not just for some beans sold at the region’s proliferation of coffee shops, but at local grocery stores as well. Some of the Portland area’s costliest beans have gone up a few dollars recently, exceeding $35 or $40 per pound, higher than luxury foods like fresh live lobster at local seafood shops queried by the news organization.

Droughts and other adverse weather conditions over the past two years have led to a shortage of beans and higher prices. Inflation also is raising the cost of most everything. Piling on are President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which he solidified on Aug. 7 at 10% for bountiful coffee producing nations like Colombia and Guatemala and a steep 50% on the world’s largest producer of arabica beans, Brazil. Trump established the tariff after expressing his disapproval of the ongoing prosecution of his political ally, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a close political ally who is accused of plotting a coup after losing the presidency.

Ground roasted coffee prices in the western part of the U.S. have swelled to an average of $8.41 per pound. That’s a 33% increase in the past year and more than 80% in the past four years. But those statistics don’t reflect the cost of Portland’s higher end, coveted beans roasted in town.

In Portland and Multnomah County, where Trump only garnered 17% of the vote in November 2024, his tariffs on all sorts of imports, but especially coffee, have largely only fueled disdain for the president. Coffee of any real significance can’t be grown or raised in the United States because of its disfavorable climate for beans. The rising prices for imported beans have led some Portland area residents to turn more than ever to home machines that some invested in during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when local cafe shops and restaurants shuttered to in-person dining by order of the governor.

Because of the higher coffee prices that some shops have started implementing this year, some coffee enthusiasts say they’re frequenting coffee shops less. Or at least questioning if they should.

Debbie Kistner, a customer at Legacy Health in Northwest Portland, has noticed the price of her vanilla cream cold brew with unsweetened syrup increase from $5.25 to $5.95 at Starbucks. Despite Starbucks’ CEO’s promise to stave off price increases until the end of September, Kistner and her co-worker, Debz Briske, are paying more, particularly for some customized drinks. They plan to continue paying higher prices but also search for deals on coffee by the pound that they can drink at home.

Ken Wheeler and Raymond Avalos, who own a coffee shop in Savannah, Georgia, know off-hand the tariff rates that Trump has imposed on major coffee producing nations, including that he isn’t imposing new tariffs on Mexican coffee just yet. They are waiting and watching to see what happens. If they’re jacking up the prices and they’re getting the coffee from Mexico, then that’s not good. The couple used to own a coffee shop in Savannah, Georgia, where they roasted their own beans. Now roughly two decades later, they’re retired and willing to pay higher prices for a bag of locally roasted beans or their favorite coffee drink at the counter of a small business, walking distance from their home.

The squeeze on Portland coffee shops is due to Trump’s tariffs, as coffee beans can’t be grown in the U.S. on a large scale. Carlos Mena, a Portland State University professor and supply chain expert, believes that the coffee industry is one of the most affected industries out there. The tariffs probably won’t hurt a large corporation like Starbucks as much because it specializes in so many other products, including food and non-coffee drinks. However, the coffee roasters in Portland, such as the Stumptowns and the Case Studies, mostly are selling only coffee.

Over the past week, a dozen coffee roasters and coffee shops have been asked how they were coping and whether they had increased prices or planned to. Most — including Dutch Bros, the Human Bean, Stumptown, and Coava — didn’t respond. Uncertainty permeates the coffee industry, especially in Portland. Some coffee roasters, like Heart Coffee Roasters, are planning to raise prices soon, if they haven’t already. Both Hendon, the University of Oregon professor, and Mena, from Portland State, expect prices to increase further, but by how much. Hendon does have a prediction: whatever price becomes the new normal, coffee drinkers shouldn’t expect to see a return to old prices even if droughts or other adverse weather conditions lessen and the new tariffs dissipate.

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