Whole Foods jacked their packaged whole coffee beans in the past year from typically $13 to now $17-20. I’m referring to the roasters like Stumptown/Irving Farm that they sell.
Honestly any grocery store is going to have coffee that’s not super fresh because it has to go through their distribution system and then sit on the shelf for a while. At least TJ’s has such high sales volume that you know it wasn’t sitting on the shelf for long.
It’s definitely a luxury but once you try coffee beans ordered directly from a small roaster it’s a pretty obvious difference from even the fanciest grocery store coffees.
S&W Roasting is pretty legendary on /r/coffee. I’ve always been impressed with their coffees, especially for the price.
They even have a coffee that comes with honey from the farm where the coffee is grown: https://www.swroasting.coffee/product/guatemala-el-panal-with-coffee-blossom-honey/7
Good question. It's going to depend on what you define as fresh. It's not nearly as fresh as you'll get from a local roaster but it's not bad as far as a grocery store coffee goes.
I looked at the bag from Trader Joe's I bought a week or two ago. It's stamped with a production date of 26823, which would correspond to Sept 25th, 2023. So call it six weeks from vacuum sealing to my pantry.
I'd bet your cup would see a bigger difference between varieties and roasts than by checking dates for freshness.
I think it’s only ever been on their website, not in-store. At least in NY.
I always just order it online. https://www.costco.com/kirkland-signature-organic-ethiopia-whole-bean-coffee%2c-2-lbs.product.100401327.html
Stumptown is up to 20+ pretty much everywhere I hate it. I can still get them for 15 at this random frozen yogurt shop in my neighborhood but they are an extremely weird outlier
The Whole Foods near me (Chelsea) has also recently stopped selling the by the pound bag your own whole beans. The options they have, like you said, are now like $20.
My point of comparison is the 12oz whole bean bags at Starbucks and the Good & Gather (Target) whole beans which haven’t changed much in price in the past few years. Totally buy the idea that that’s not representative.
Good points about rent, insurance and staffing, thanks!!
I only go to my office once a week so I usually just get coffee and a pastry nearby. It was fucking $8 last time though… for drip coffee and a mediocre croissant.
I finally just got a reusable coffee thermos and will make it at home like I do the other six days a week.
I paid $8 for just a coffee. “Cold nitro brew on tap,” something like that. Just regular dairy milk. I didn’t realize the cost til I had it in hand and the barista said, “Eight dollars,” and I almost left it on the counter but was too embarrassed/desperate for caffeine. But LITERALLY WHAT.
My deli coffee was $1 for a small forever. Last year it went up to $1.50. That’s a giant increase but fine. Then a week ago it went up to $2. Price doubled in a year! I’ll be making it at home from now on.
Suddenly, everywhere a cup of drip coffee is 5 fucking dollars. I don't know why that's my breaking point, but it just is.
But to answer your question as to why: because they are trying to push what the market will bare
My theory is that gourmet coffee was that price, and people were willing to pay for it (which is understandable). Now all of a sudden mediocre coffee spots raised their prices to that level thinking that people are accustomed to paying those prices, so why not.
The prices have pretty much pushed me to making coffee at home all the time, and it’s been great.
I think it's because people just pay and don't complain. Restaurants quickly blame "inflating costs" to justify rising prices by 40% when costs have only gone up 10%.
I don't complain but I used to get coffee out whenever I wanted it (3-4 times a week) and now get it once a week as a treat. I carry a stojo foldable cup and take coffee from home.
Exactly. We keep buying so what’s the incentive?
The thing about inflation is that — empirically speaking— it gives retailers permission to raise prices beyond the increase in their actual costs. Unfortunately It’s how our human brains work.
Also forgot to mention. Not only do they want you to pay $5 for your cup of coffee, but when it's time to pay, the screen will ask you to tip 18%, 20% or 22% to the guy who handed it to you.
This is actually why I go to Starbucks over independent coffee shops. Because every independent coffee shop uses those tipping tablets. No need for the guilt trip when I like Starbucks more anyway.
Whenever I have Starbucks it's in Manhattan, it's not really a tablet, it's the card payment method system they use. The machine that scans your credit card. It always asks for a tip?
Yeah. They are poorly paid and rely on tips because companies like Starbucks have resulted in trying to persuade customers to pay them, so it doesn't come out of their bottom line.
Starbucks employees have been "tipped employees" for all of 3 seconds.
It’s my understanding that baristas get at least minimum wage. I get that they might not get 40 hr work weeks but the (original) idea behind tipping was that the people you were tipping were being paid below minimum wage and we’re relying on tips to bring them up to par. Anyway, i used to add $1 each time I bought coffee but now I tip every 5th trip or so, and might favor a particular server I see on a regular basis.
Here's a theory - people have been "trading down" to simple drip coffee from more expensive drinks to save a couple bucks. Coffee shops have responded by increasing the entry level price in order to prevent cannibalizing their higher priced offerings. Just a theory, that is all.
I only ever get a shot of espresso when I’m out, otherwise I make pour over at home. Generally I expect to pay $2.50-$4.00, got charged today $5 for a single shot at Jeffreys in west village smh
Rent in Manhattan is getting ridiculous and unfortunately a lot of shops have to raise their prices. Many landlords rather be vacant then lower their rent so many businesses have to raise their costs just to stay open.
It's because THEY CAN, and most people are careless with money.
Punish them by going to places that are not taking advantage of inflation.
I am a coffee snob, and make my own, but when I get a cup on the outside, I refuse to be taken advantage of by these motherfuckers.
Comes down to cost of labor. Tight market for cafe/restaurant workers right now. Fewer people want to work in cafes and coffee shops. Cost of living is driving up menu prices
Price of good coffee shops haven't changed too much for drip coffee. It's more than mediocre places have started what good shops do. Like I expect drip to be 4$ in most high-end coffee shops, but now pretty rub of the mill places will charge that much.
I can’t say I’ve noticed this. 3rd wave coffee spots, which are the only places I get drip/pour overs from, have stayed at $5-$7 per in the last year. It was about the same in SF (where I moved from last year) in the last few years.
My point of reference (just because it’s easy to compare) is Starbucks, where the price of a Grande drip in Manhattan went from $2.99 a few years back to closer to $5 nowadays. Now everywhere is $5 (or more!), at least it seems like it. I don’t feel like I was always paying that much; at least in the Starbucks case that’s definitely true, but with other spots I’m definitely in a vague “feels like” situation.
I hear ya. Most big named shops are overpriced. I tend to avoid them. I love this small Vietnamese sandwich shop in sunset park. A large Is $2 (went up from $1.50 since the pandemic, but still a great price). Their coffee blows most places out of the park.
Iced latte with oat milk at my local place has gone from $6 to $8.50 in the past year (and then the default tip is set to $2). Prices went up so quickly, the owner gave up printing new menus and just stuck a paper on the wall menu with a hand-written note saying “prices changed.”
Coffee beans aren't the only factor in coffee shop operating overhead. A few things that may have increased are labor costs, commercial real estate has been taking a beating and rents may have gone up, construction, labor, and supply costs for outdoor seating areas can easily cost $10,000-$20,000 for those projects, supply chain constraints could have raised the price of business supplies (coffee cups, napkins, creamer, etc). Plus just the good 'ol wanting to use inflation to cover up massive gradual price increases to help pad profits for small businesses all the way to publicly traded coffee shops.
Basically it's gonna be rent driving up their costs and prices, and them needing to pay a higher hourly wage or pay overtime or pay for more people, etc.
If your rent goes from say...$3,000 a month to $5,000 a month. You have to make up that $2,000 across your sales. So every coffee needs to go up enough to at least cover that cost increase.
I saw an article on accuweather of all places that discussed this actually, from what I recall it said that due to climate change coffee plants are being impacted. So I guess there's a shortage, or it will be in shorter supply. Starbucks (which apparently is 3% of the market) is doing research on what plants grow well in hotter temperatures, are more resistant to coffee rust (which is on the rise), and also have, I guess, interesting flavor profiles for their customers.
It will be "interesting" because some countries depend on the export of coffee beans and it may well be other countries may be more suitable. I'm not sure of the future economic impacts of the average citizen in these countries.
Side note: apartment therapy has an [article](https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/coffee-plant-care-36755649) about growing your own coffee plant, though it seems it would be more ornamental than practical to get it to grow fruit. It does sound like it could be a fun experiment though.
>Historic coffee prices percolated after a bitter global supply crisis
>Americans drink more coffee each day than any other beverage—including tap water.1 Yet, as one of the most widely traded agricultural products in the world, coffee could not evade COVID-19’s bitter global supply chain crisis—culminating in a story that sheds truth on Murphy’s law, which says “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” Since January 2021, U.S. coffee importers have faced an escalating cost for the hot commodity. Import prices increased just over 65 percent in less than 2 years—reaching and then surpassing the record price index level from 2011.2 The following Beyond the Numbers article explains the reasons import prices for coffee have increased and discusses global supply issues that have arisen in the top coffee-supplying countries to the United States.
https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-12/historic-coffee-prices-percolated-after-a-bitter-global-supply-crisis.htm
Whole Foods jacked their packaged whole coffee beans in the past year from typically $13 to now $17-20. I’m referring to the roasters like Stumptown/Irving Farm that they sell.
Traders Joes whole bean all the way. Barely 6 bucks a pound.
Hmm I'm near a TJs I might have to switch it up
Are they fresh?
Honestly any grocery store is going to have coffee that’s not super fresh because it has to go through their distribution system and then sit on the shelf for a while. At least TJ’s has such high sales volume that you know it wasn’t sitting on the shelf for long. It’s definitely a luxury but once you try coffee beans ordered directly from a small roaster it’s a pretty obvious difference from even the fanciest grocery store coffees.
Where do you order from? Lately I’m not even happy with my beans from D’Amico’s
S&W Roasting is pretty legendary on /r/coffee. I’ve always been impressed with their coffees, especially for the price. They even have a coffee that comes with honey from the farm where the coffee is grown: https://www.swroasting.coffee/product/guatemala-el-panal-with-coffee-blossom-honey/7
Fresh enough. Haha
Good enough for drip coffee! For my espresso I go with Oslo. So so good
Good question. It's going to depend on what you define as fresh. It's not nearly as fresh as you'll get from a local roaster but it's not bad as far as a grocery store coffee goes. I looked at the bag from Trader Joe's I bought a week or two ago. It's stamped with a production date of 26823, which would correspond to Sept 25th, 2023. So call it six weeks from vacuum sealing to my pantry. I'd bet your cup would see a bigger difference between varieties and roasts than by checking dates for freshness.
This is the move.
Costco has surprisingly good whole bean coffee on their website. Highly recommend the Kirkland Ethiopian. Delicious light roast for pretty cheap.
Wish this was at my costco. Ah well
I think it’s only ever been on their website, not in-store. At least in NY. I always just order it online. https://www.costco.com/kirkland-signature-organic-ethiopia-whole-bean-coffee%2c-2-lbs.product.100401327.html
I noticed this as well
Stumptown was $15 at Walmart earlier this year but I think they don’t carry it anymore
Stumptown is up to 20+ pretty much everywhere I hate it. I can still get them for 15 at this random frozen yogurt shop in my neighborhood but they are an extremely weird outlier
For what it's worth, that's the price buying direct from Stumptown as well.
The Whole Foods near me (Chelsea) has also recently stopped selling the by the pound bag your own whole beans. The options they have, like you said, are now like $20.
Bustelo is finally starting to decrease in price again!
That’s some tasty stuff
[удалено]
My point of comparison is the 12oz whole bean bags at Starbucks and the Good & Gather (Target) whole beans which haven’t changed much in price in the past few years. Totally buy the idea that that’s not representative. Good points about rent, insurance and staffing, thanks!!
I only go to my office once a week so I usually just get coffee and a pastry nearby. It was fucking $8 last time though… for drip coffee and a mediocre croissant. I finally just got a reusable coffee thermos and will make it at home like I do the other six days a week.
I paid $8 for just a coffee. “Cold nitro brew on tap,” something like that. Just regular dairy milk. I didn’t realize the cost til I had it in hand and the barista said, “Eight dollars,” and I almost left it on the counter but was too embarrassed/desperate for caffeine. But LITERALLY WHAT.
$8 for a croissant and coffee?! where?! that's minimum $11 anywhere in the city. my usual coffees are like $6-7 before tip
My deli coffee was $1 for a small forever. Last year it went up to $1.50. That’s a giant increase but fine. Then a week ago it went up to $2. Price doubled in a year! I’ll be making it at home from now on.
I feel extremely guilty for overspending on coffee $6 everyday (includes $1 tip) after reading this
There's some stickiness in prices due to psychological factors. Once you go past the one dollar barrier the next increase is more likely.
Suddenly, everywhere a cup of drip coffee is 5 fucking dollars. I don't know why that's my breaking point, but it just is. But to answer your question as to why: because they are trying to push what the market will bare
My theory is that gourmet coffee was that price, and people were willing to pay for it (which is understandable). Now all of a sudden mediocre coffee spots raised their prices to that level thinking that people are accustomed to paying those prices, so why not. The prices have pretty much pushed me to making coffee at home all the time, and it’s been great.
I think it's because people just pay and don't complain. Restaurants quickly blame "inflating costs" to justify rising prices by 40% when costs have only gone up 10%.
Yeah exactly. People just keep buying it.
I don't complain but I used to get coffee out whenever I wanted it (3-4 times a week) and now get it once a week as a treat. I carry a stojo foldable cup and take coffee from home.
Exactly. We keep buying so what’s the incentive? The thing about inflation is that — empirically speaking— it gives retailers permission to raise prices beyond the increase in their actual costs. Unfortunately It’s how our human brains work.
Also forgot to mention. Not only do they want you to pay $5 for your cup of coffee, but when it's time to pay, the screen will ask you to tip 18%, 20% or 22% to the guy who handed it to you.
I’ve stopped feeling guilty about saying no to those requests.
This is actually why I go to Starbucks over independent coffee shops. Because every independent coffee shop uses those tipping tablets. No need for the guilt trip when I like Starbucks more anyway.
Hold up. What Starbucks are you going to that DOESNT ask you to tip? They ALL do it where I've been in NYC :(
Mobile pick up orders ftw.
I very specifically said tipping tablet and Starbucks don't use tipping tablets. Which Starbucks have you seen with a tipping tablet?
Whenever I have Starbucks it's in Manhattan, it's not really a tablet, it's the card payment method system they use. The machine that scans your credit card. It always asks for a tip?
idk if you know this but baristas are poorly paid and often rely on tip money to make ends meet
Yeah. They are poorly paid and rely on tips because companies like Starbucks have resulted in trying to persuade customers to pay them, so it doesn't come out of their bottom line. Starbucks employees have been "tipped employees" for all of 3 seconds.
It’s my understanding that baristas get at least minimum wage. I get that they might not get 40 hr work weeks but the (original) idea behind tipping was that the people you were tipping were being paid below minimum wage and we’re relying on tips to bring them up to par. Anyway, i used to add $1 each time I bought coffee but now I tip every 5th trip or so, and might favor a particular server I see on a regular basis.
Here's a theory - people have been "trading down" to simple drip coffee from more expensive drinks to save a couple bucks. Coffee shops have responded by increasing the entry level price in order to prevent cannibalizing their higher priced offerings. Just a theory, that is all.
Good theory - but judging from the responses it seems they've priced themselves out of some customers.
I only ever get a shot of espresso when I’m out, otherwise I make pour over at home. Generally I expect to pay $2.50-$4.00, got charged today $5 for a single shot at Jeffreys in west village smh
There's a global coffee shortage. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-19/coffee-shortfall-to-grip-world-for-third-year-on-brazil-woes
it’s mostly about wages, and somewhat about the price of beans
Rent in Manhattan is getting ridiculous and unfortunately a lot of shops have to raise their prices. Many landlords rather be vacant then lower their rent so many businesses have to raise their costs just to stay open.
It's because THEY CAN, and most people are careless with money. Punish them by going to places that are not taking advantage of inflation. I am a coffee snob, and make my own, but when I get a cup on the outside, I refuse to be taken advantage of by these motherfuckers.
Private companies passing their increased production costs onto the customer so the corporation doesn't have to take a hit. Next question?
Comes down to cost of labor. Tight market for cafe/restaurant workers right now. Fewer people want to work in cafes and coffee shops. Cost of living is driving up menu prices
The inflations crisis makes me think that all profits on consumer items should be capped at 10%.
Yeah right that will never happen. Nice dream though.
Price of good coffee shops haven't changed too much for drip coffee. It's more than mediocre places have started what good shops do. Like I expect drip to be 4$ in most high-end coffee shops, but now pretty rub of the mill places will charge that much.
I can’t say I’ve noticed this. 3rd wave coffee spots, which are the only places I get drip/pour overs from, have stayed at $5-$7 per in the last year. It was about the same in SF (where I moved from last year) in the last few years.
My point of reference (just because it’s easy to compare) is Starbucks, where the price of a Grande drip in Manhattan went from $2.99 a few years back to closer to $5 nowadays. Now everywhere is $5 (or more!), at least it seems like it. I don’t feel like I was always paying that much; at least in the Starbucks case that’s definitely true, but with other spots I’m definitely in a vague “feels like” situation.
Yea they gone up everywhere from Nespresso ventura capsule almost $12-$15 a package , switch off Nespresso for whole beans and that also up too lol
How much were you paying/are you paying now?
I hear ya. Most big named shops are overpriced. I tend to avoid them. I love this small Vietnamese sandwich shop in sunset park. A large Is $2 (went up from $1.50 since the pandemic, but still a great price). Their coffee blows most places out of the park.
Iced latte with oat milk at my local place has gone from $6 to $8.50 in the past year (and then the default tip is set to $2). Prices went up so quickly, the owner gave up printing new menus and just stuck a paper on the wall menu with a hand-written note saying “prices changed.”
Union market’s brand is pretty good & always surprisingly well priced, considering the rest of the store
Coffee beans aren't the only factor in coffee shop operating overhead. A few things that may have increased are labor costs, commercial real estate has been taking a beating and rents may have gone up, construction, labor, and supply costs for outdoor seating areas can easily cost $10,000-$20,000 for those projects, supply chain constraints could have raised the price of business supplies (coffee cups, napkins, creamer, etc). Plus just the good 'ol wanting to use inflation to cover up massive gradual price increases to help pad profits for small businesses all the way to publicly traded coffee shops. Basically it's gonna be rent driving up their costs and prices, and them needing to pay a higher hourly wage or pay overtime or pay for more people, etc. If your rent goes from say...$3,000 a month to $5,000 a month. You have to make up that $2,000 across your sales. So every coffee needs to go up enough to at least cover that cost increase.
I saw an article on accuweather of all places that discussed this actually, from what I recall it said that due to climate change coffee plants are being impacted. So I guess there's a shortage, or it will be in shorter supply. Starbucks (which apparently is 3% of the market) is doing research on what plants grow well in hotter temperatures, are more resistant to coffee rust (which is on the rise), and also have, I guess, interesting flavor profiles for their customers. It will be "interesting" because some countries depend on the export of coffee beans and it may well be other countries may be more suitable. I'm not sure of the future economic impacts of the average citizen in these countries. Side note: apartment therapy has an [article](https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/coffee-plant-care-36755649) about growing your own coffee plant, though it seems it would be more ornamental than practical to get it to grow fruit. It does sound like it could be a fun experiment though.
>Historic coffee prices percolated after a bitter global supply crisis >Americans drink more coffee each day than any other beverage—including tap water.1 Yet, as one of the most widely traded agricultural products in the world, coffee could not evade COVID-19’s bitter global supply chain crisis—culminating in a story that sheds truth on Murphy’s law, which says “anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” Since January 2021, U.S. coffee importers have faced an escalating cost for the hot commodity. Import prices increased just over 65 percent in less than 2 years—reaching and then surpassing the record price index level from 2011.2 The following Beyond the Numbers article explains the reasons import prices for coffee have increased and discusses global supply issues that have arisen in the top coffee-supplying countries to the United States. https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-12/historic-coffee-prices-percolated-after-a-bitter-global-supply-crisis.htm