How Much $ Are Tariffs Pulling Out of Your Pocket as You Stand in Line at Peet’s or Starbucks?
If your daily cappuccino suddenly costs more, you are not imagining it. Coffee prices across the United States have climbed sharply this year, and new federal tariffs are part of the reason your wallet feels lighter.
In August 2025, the United States imposed a fifty percent tariff on green coffee beans imported from Brazil, the world’s largest producer. Other origins saw smaller but still painful surcharges, generally ten to nineteen percent depending on category. Those numbers may look abstract, but they are now filtering down to café counters from Portland to Palm Springs.
According to government price indexes, coffee prices overall are up about twenty point nine percent year over year. The national median price of a small coffee drink, think cappuccino or latte, sits around three fifty to three seventy five depending on region. Layer tariff pass-through on top of inflation, and that same cup that cost four dollars last year now often rings at four and a quarter to four fifty.
Independent roasters and café owners report the tariff increase alone adds roughly ten to fifty cents per cup, depending on bean origin and supplier contracts. A small shop in New York reported a full ten percent menu bump just to stay solvent after the tariff hit. Large chains such as Peet’s and Starbucks, which are better equipped to hedge prices, are also adjusting base pricing to reflect higher import costs.
In short, your morning coffee habit is absorbing both global politics and climate volatility. Tariffs, weather shocks, shipping, milk, rent, and labor have joined forces in the final price of a cappuccino.
So the next time you are waiting in line for your usual at Peet’s or Starbucks, that extra half dollar you hand over is not just for foam; it is the tariff toll on our collective caffeine routine.
No comments:
Post a Comment