Coffee prices are rising in Miami amid inflation, Trump tariffs
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Your morning cup of coffee got more expensive this year, according to new Toast data.
Why it matters: Coffee is among many commodities affected both by general inflation and the Trump administration's import tariffs.
- Coffee plants are also vulnerable to extreme weather tied to climate change, including droughts and heat waves.
The big picture: Coffee prices rose in almost every state over the last year, per Toast, mirroring the surge in the underlying commodity's price this year.
- The median nationwide cost of a regular cup of coffee hit $3.52 this past August, Toast says, up about 3% from the same time last year.
- Median cold brew costs hit $5.47, up 4.6%.
- That is compared with general inflation of around 2.9%.
Hot coffee prices rose the most in South Carolina (+9.6%), Nevada (+9.0%) and Florida (+8.3%).
Zoom in: In Miami, the average price of a regular hot coffee was $4.18 in August — about 4% higher than last year.
- At Panther Coffee, which operates six Miami cafés, a small cup of hot drip coffee cost $4 as recently as Sept. 28, according to a photo of the menu posted on Yelp.
- Today, it costs about $4.50, per UberEats.
What they're saying: Panther Coffee co-founder Joel Pollock tells Axios he had to raise prices about 15% to help absorb his skyrocketing costs.
- "We put it off as long as we could," Pollock said. "Nobody likes it, nobody feels good about raising prices."
- Pollock says coffee's rising commodity price, along with tariffs, has made it about 90% more expensive for him to purchase his specialty coffee beans.
State of play: Brazil, the world's top coffee producer, was hit with a 50% tariff in August.
- That month, its specialty coffee exports to the U.S. dropped 70% compared to July, according to the Brazilian Specialty Coffee Association.
Threat level: Pollock says he received a shipment from Brazil a few days before the tariffs went into effect on Aug. 1, saving him about $68,000.
- He is trying to make the shipment last and has paused some orders from Brazil.
- Panther Coffee also sources raw beans from countries like Nicaragua, which has an 18% tariff, and Colombia (10%).
- A recent shipment from Nicaragua was "pretty close to double the price ... it used to be," Pollock said.
- "We're eating a lot of margin and really trying to sort of maintain an equilibrium and see if things level out."
What's next: The Trump administration has recently opened the door to lower tariffs on coffee and other items, but that is dependent on dealmaking with other countries.