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Coffee Got Cheaper. Why Hasn't Yours?

Coffee Got Cheaper. Why Hasn't Yours?. Comic strip. The full text is in the transcript below.
Figures from BLS, ICE futures, StoneX and news reports as of November 2026. Prices change often. Illustrated explainer; people shown are fictional.

Transcript

  1. 1. Record price

    This spring, ground coffee hit a record $9.72 a pound in US stores.

  2. 2. Drought

    Droughts in Brazil and Vietnam, the world's two biggest growers, shrank harvests.

  3. 3. Tariff

    In 2025, a 50% US tariff on Brazilian coffee pushed prices higher. It was scrapped that November.

  4. 4. Beans fall

    Since then, the price traders pay for beans has fallen more than a third from its peak.

  5. 5. Big harvest

    And Brazil now expects a record harvest.

  6. 6. Old beans

    So why hasn't your coffee caught up? Roasters bought their beans months ago, at the old high prices.

  7. 7. Other costs

    Shipping, wages, packaging and rent didn't get cheaper either.

  8. 8. Rocket and feather

    Prices go up like a rocket and come down like a feather. Store prices have only just started to dip.

  9. 9. Slowly

    With a big crop coming, shelf prices should keep drifting down, slowly.