The Coffee Crisis Of 2011

[jyl]

You want to talk about the real threat to our Way Of Life, this is it. Coffee prices have been going up like crazy.

The 20 oz drip coffee at the shop in my office building has gone from $2.25 to $2.80 in the past year. All the cute girl baristas left, then my favorite guy there left, the new kids aren't decorative nor do they ever give free refills.

At my old favorite Peets, the coffee I grew up with, a pound of Major Dickason's has gone from $12 to $15. Local indie-star-turned-sell-out-to-corporate-owners Stumptown is charging $20/ lb ($15 for a clever 12 oz bag). Well, Catahoula is better, he's a great guy who still roasts and grinds every bean himself, and his coffee is still $12/lb. Try the Lola (they're all named after his dogs.)

Coffee futures went from 130 (cents/lb) in mid 2010 to 290 in early 2011, a +130% move. Futures have pulled back to 220, still nearly double prior levels.

I don't know of people are cutting back on coffee consumption. Starbucks is still reporting growth in ticket (number of transactions), as it Peets. The coffee vendors with single-serve products, like the Kuerig brewers, are growing sales rapidly. But standard grocery store coffee brands are seeing volume declines, admittedly small declines.

My solution was to bring an old coffee maker from home, plug it into the office kitchen, and make my own coffee. I still buy a cup some days from the shop downstairs, to support them.

With futures declining, I think we'll get through the Coffee Crisis Of 2011. But it is looking like a near thing. Another year of wild weather in coffee regions, and The End Of The World could still happen. Keep those armor-piercing bullets close!

[GH85Carrera]

A coffeee maker on the counter, some water, coffeee, filters and electricity and I have my coffeee here at work in minutes. Never ever a line to stand in and it is just not foo foo coffeee. Just black coffee. Yum.

[lane912]

i was noticing the price increese recently also-
we go through a pound an a half of whole beans a week

i switched to a hand grinder and frnch press, better coffee more labor less impulsive coffee drinking. this has cut down on the weekly cost a bit-

where is this "Catahola" you speak of? i am interested.....

[cgarr]

Price is up, why? Well it is down a bit from 2011 highs of 280 and 290's Since the premium coffee has gotten so popular the supply is hard to keep up. They are down a bit now to the 220 to 230 range and did dip to 215 a bit ago. You can still get the cheap coffee at a cheap price but then you get what you pay for.

Drink up, its our business and we need it!

[jyl]

lane, google Catahoula Coffee. In the Bay Area but does mail order. When we're in Berkeley, we drop in, have a cup, talk about stuff. He runs a coffee shop as well as roasting and selling beans. Not getting rich, just making no-char coffee.

cgarr, are you a coffee importer? What do you do?

[cgarr]

Originally Posted by jyl

cgarr, are you a coffee importer? What do you do?

We buy from the importers then roast, grind and package. If you don't buy it at the right time it can make for a bad year! Don't ask me what the right time is either.

[scottmandue]

Two words... trader Joe's... buy my whole beans there ($8-$9 pound)

Burr grinder at home.... bring to work... use free drip coffee maker someone left behind.

I have a French press at home but only use that on the weekend.

I was in stuptown two weeks ago (after lunch at Kell's), no line at Voodoo so I even had a donut. Stuned at the price of beans there.

[VINMAN]

WaWa. $.139 for 16oz Im happy. We have a Kuerig in the firehouse. Buy the bulk K-cups at Sams. less than 60 cents a cup

[HardDrive]

Yeah, thats....ummmm.....a real crisis.

[Evans, Marv]

I'm not a coffee expert, and I only drink one mug in the morning for something hot to drink. So I just buy the bags of coffee at Costco and have for many years. A 3 lb. bag (Columbian beans) that cost $6.99 years ago is now something like $15.99. Still not expensive at $5+/lb. at current prices, but I'm glad I don't drink a lot of it throughout the day. The price of everything has been on a steep incline for years and coffee is only one thing out of the whole. It seems like in years to come, the middle class will only afford the basics of food, housing, & transportation if lucky. ( Not trying to PARF this.)

[gtc]

Stumptown has done amazingly well in only 12 years. It will be interesting to watch them expand with the new investors.
We have many similar coffee roasters and microbrews (craft breweries strike me as very similar to coffee roasters) up here, and it always confounded me as to why they are so reluctant to expand their distribution despite huge demand for their products.

[aigel]

I brew my own from Costco or Amazon bargain hunts and office coffee is free. Rarely do I buy it at a shop - usually only on travels that are longer than my thermos can stay hot.

With the above MO coffee prices have not affected my household budget significantly. It probably would have to triple to show up on my radar.

G

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by gtc

Stumptown has done amazingly well in only 12 years. It will be interesting to watch them expand with the new investors.
We have many similar coffee roasters and microbrews (craft breweries strike me as very similar to coffee roasters) up here, and it always confounded me as to why they are so reluctant to expand their distribution despite huge demand for their products.

Apparently you don't watch Portlandia

[RWebb]

My local place has their own farmers they buy from, and increases in the last 2-3 years have been minimal.

That makes me think that something else is going on, besides transport costs.

[red-beard]

Purchase Jura-Capresso Superautomatic, feed with appropriate coffee and water. Use savings to pay for coffee machine in less than a year.

[vash]

Originally Posted by jyl

lane, google Catahoula Coffee. In the Bay Area but does mail order. ?

how did i not know about catahoula? i'll check it out.

i've gotten lazy. i buy the big bag from kirklands and grind it at the store. then just drip it thru my $40 machine. when i cared, i lovingly grind the whole beans with a burr grinder..major dickensons. (i get it free but the supply is not consistent)

in January, my coworkers got me that $20 unlimited refill for the month cup. as a chinese person, i am proud to announce that i clearly got my money's worth. i bet i filled that thing 60 times.

[tabs]

I figured my Salvatore paid for itself in about one year from the savings incurred from not having to buy from a Starbucks like joint. Not that I would have ever gone out to buy a cup of Joe..but the savings are for quality to like quality..

I have noticed the price increase. and don't like it.

Anyway what I would like to do is find some Yemen Beans and have them Dark roasted...I have also been considering buying and then roasting my own...some one on the Board was dong it with a Hot Glue Dryer and SS mixing bowl?

Ohhhh....did I mention that since last summer I have been sipping on loose leaf Chinese Teas...Gun Powder Green Tea, Tender Tip Country Green, Pur Ehr, Formosa Oolong, Jasmine, and Lichee Black Teas.

I have a whole bunch more I am going to try...

[red-beard]

Originally Posted by tabs

I figured my Salvatore paid for itself in about one year from the savings incurred from not having to buy from a Starbucks like joint. Not that I would have ever gone out to buy a cup of Joe..but the savings are for quality to like quality..

I agree. I expect you can produce a better espresso than my super, but the super is "plug and play".

[RWebb]

huh - the Capresso Jura EC100 Pump Espresso and Cappuccino Machine is only $120 online...

[herr_oberst]

I've been getting mine locally from Nossa Familia; price has more or less held steady at 26 bucks for 2 pounds for a while; I guess I should be expecting a rise in coffee prices soon. . . .