Even As Cost Of Coffee Soars, Cafes Proliferate – CoffeeTalk

Coffee prices have soared. Last month, consumers paid 12% higher than a year ago for coffee, the largest increase for any sort of food except eggs. A pound of coffee at the grocery store hit a record eight dollars last month, double its early 2020 level. Analysts say more pain is on the way because wholesale prices have risen even faster than retail.

The coffee business is thriving in New York because demand for coffee continues to rise. Consumption has increased by 7% nationally since 2020, and the average American coffee drinker consumes three cups a day. At least one of those cups is usually taken in what federal officials classify as “nonalcoholic beverage bars,” which are mostly cafes. There are 3,300 of them across the city, a 24% increase since 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Starbucks has more locations in Manhattan than any chain retailer, with 192, and the Seattle-based giant added six across the city last year. There are 626 Dunkin locations across the city, plus hundreds of bodegas and pushcarts that sell coffee for a couple of bucks.

The surge in prices is also revving up the fortunes of enterprises like Coffee Holding Co., a Staten Island-based firm founded in 1971 that produces coffee sold in stores under brands such as Cafe Caribe and also sells unroasted beans to other distributors. Rising coffee prices raised the value of the company’s unroasted inventory and helped revenue increase by 15% last year, to about $80 million. The Nasdaq-listed company swung to a $2.2 million net profit from an $830,000 loss and last week said it would resume its annual dividend and pay out 33% of net earnings to investors. CEO Andrew Gordon said it would be the first time his company has paid a regular dividend since 2012.

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