☕ What’s Going on With the Coffee Industry? (And Why Prices Are Changing)

If you’ve noticed coffee prices shifting lately, you’re not alone. It’s not just us—it’s happening everywhere, from small-batch roasters to big supermarket brands. So what’s actually going on?

We want to break it down for you in a way that makes sense (and doesn’t sound like we’re just making excuses for price changes). The coffee industry is going through a wild time right now, and while we’ve done everything we can to hold off on price increases, we also want to be upfront about what’s happening behind the scenes.

Let’s get into it.

☕ How Coffee Pricing Works

First things first—coffee is a global commodity, which means it’s bought and sold on the world market, kind of like oil or gold. The price of coffee beans (often called the C price) is constantly changing based on supply and demand.

Here’s the thing: we don’t just get to name our price for beans. The price we pay for green (unroasted) coffee is determined by what’s happening globally, and right now? Things are a little messy.

🚨 Why Coffee Prices Have Been Rising

A lot of factors have been piling up at once, making coffee more expensive to buy and harder to source. Here’s why:

1️⃣ Coffee Shortages Due to Bad Harvests

Major coffee-growing regions like Brazil, Colombia, and Vietnam have been hit with rough growing seasons. Coffee is a crop, and just like anything else that grows, it’s affected by unpredictable weather, disease, and pests.

When fewer beans are being harvested, there’s less coffee available worldwide—and that drives prices up.

2️⃣ Farming Costs Have Skyrocketed

Even when farmers do have a decent harvest, their costs have gone through the roof. Things like:

✅ Labour costs (workers need fair wages, and labour shortages mean higher pay)

✅ Fertiliser costs (yep, coffee farms need good soil, and fertiliser prices have shot up)

✅ Fuel & transport (moving coffee from farms to ports to roasters now costs way more)

These expenses all get added to the final cost of coffee.

3️⃣ Big Corporations Are Buying Up Supply

This one is frustrating. Huge coffee companies (the ones supplying supermarket brands and chain cafés) are buying up massive amounts of beans in advance. They’re locking in contracts at high volumes, which makes it harder for small-batch roasters like us to secure high-quality beans at a fair price.

Since we only roast fresh, small batches at a time, we can’t just grab 50+ tonnes of coffee at once like the big guys. This means we have to be extra careful about sourcing, balancing quality, and making sure we can actually get the beans we want.

4️⃣ Shipping Costs Are Through the Roof

Even after we buy the beans, we have to get them to New Zealand—and shipping has become a logistical nightmare.

🚢 Freight costs are way up

🚢 Port delays are common

🚢 General supply chain chaos

Every extra cost in the process adds up, meaning even before we roast a single batch, our costs have already increased significantly.

💡 So What Does This Mean for You?

We’re not here to hit you with doom and gloom. The good news? We’re still roasting fresh, high-quality coffee every week, and we’re still committed to keeping our coffee as affordable as possible.

But we also want to be honest and transparent—the reality is that coffee pricing is unpredictable right now, and it’s out of our control.

What hasn’t changed is our commitment to:

✅ Sourcing the best beans we can (we won’t compromise on quality)

✅ Keeping our coffee fresh, small-batch, and local

✅ Making sure you get the best coffee experience possible

If you ever have questions about coffee pricing, sourcing, or why we do what we do, we’re more than happy to chat. We appreciate your support more than ever—it’s because of you that we get to keep doing what we love.

So go make yourself a coffee, and just know that every sip is supporting small-batch roasting, better farming practices, and a whole lot of love for good coffee.

☕ Cheers,

The Red Shed Coffee Team