Price increases for roasted coffee beans

There are many reasons for this. Basically, the demand for coffee exceeds the supply. On the one hand, global demand is rising rapidly. More serious, however, is the fact that Brazil and Vietnam, the two largest coffee-growing countries, are expected to produce less coffee this year, as persistent droughts are affecting harvests. This news sent futures prices soaring at the end of January 2025. Although this price relates to commodity coffee, the specialty coffee sector is also feeling the effects.

With green coffee prices hovering around €8 per kilogram in recent weeks, smallholder farmers have a choice. They can invest additional time and effort in processing coffee cherries into specialty coffee or they can sell their coffee cherries on the local market for cash. Unless the coffee has already been sold, some farmers understandably opt for the immediate, low-risk payout to minimize their risks and lock in the high green coffee price now, before prices may fall again.

However, it should be noted that not all producers are benefiting from historic prices. In Costa Rica and Colombia, we have heard of rising production costs, labor shortages and lower yields due to unseasonal storms. In other words, prices may be higher, but many smallholders will harvest and process less coffee this year, which will lead to a loss of income.

For the specialty coffee market, this means that there will be less coffee available to be processed as specialty coffee. It also means that roasters will have to pay a significant premium to finance the additional work and effort required to produce high-quality specialty coffee.

What does it mean for us?

In December, we wrote about why we should celebrate higher green coffee prices—and we still stand by that. We also explained that our roasted coffee prices are directly linked to the price we paid for each specific coffee. At Warawul, producers set their own prices for their green coffee, which means that prices naturally fluctuate from harvest to harvest.

What we did not anticipate, however, was the sheer speed of the price increases. The prices of the coffees we bought last year have now doubled - a development that is similar to or even more dramatic than the increase in the market for conventional coffee.

This has created a significant price difference. The coffee we bought in advance last year, which arrived at the end of the year, is significantly cheaper than the coffee we are buying now for delivery in spring and summer. Such a difference carries the risk of discouraging customers from buying new coffees. More importantly, it penalizes producers whose harvest happens to fall in this period, as we would be forced to reduce our purchases in anticipation of lower demand.

To bridge this gap, we are making a small price adjustment to our current coffees. This allows us to price future coffees more sustainably - without making them unaffordable.

Since Warawul was founded in October 2023, we have been committed to making specialty coffee both accessible and affordable. We want more people to be able to experience great coffee. At the same time, we need to run a financially sound business – not just for us, but also for the producers we work with. A key part of this sustainability is ensuring that they set their own prices and are paid fairly. But it is also important that we can get through difficult phases for the market as a whole in a stable manner based on our personal relationships with the producers.

To keep this promise and adapt to this new reality, we need to adjust our prices. It's not just about keeping our business viable – it's about continuing to source exceptional coffee while honoring the trust and work of the producers who grow it.

By the way: if you want to see how our purchase prices for green coffee have developed, you can download our transparency log at https://warawul.coffee/en/transparenz-bericht , where all the data is recorded.