Green Coffee Price Impact and Why The Quality Is (Sometimes) Going Down

What’s happening to coffee prices?

The global price of coffee is anchored to what’s known as the C-market - the benchmark price used for non-speciality (commodity) coffee. For over a year now, the   C-market has remained unusually high. Not just a quick spike… but consistently high for months.

Several things contribute to this:

• Weather disruptions in major producing countries

• Increased labour and farming costs

• Higher transport and export costs

• Ongoing global market volatility

When the C-market rises and stays elevated, it puts pressure on every part of the supply chain, from farmers to importers to roasters.

But why is quality going down?

Here’s where it gets interesting, and where our supplier’s recent newsletter nailed the explanation. There are two main reasons:

1. Farmers are rushing the process to benefit from high prices

When prices are high but unpredictable, producers don’t know how long the boom will last. So in some cases, the focus shifts to getting coffee to market quickly.

That can mean:

• Less careful sorting

• Faster, uneven drying

• Mixed-ripeness cherry picking

• Fewer stages of visual or mechanical quality checks

Even small shortcuts in processing can affect the final cup. You may notice coffees tasting “flatter”, less vibrant, or not as clean as usual, even from regions known for excellence.

2. The incentive to produce speciality coffee drops

Producing true specialty coffee is labour-intensive, costly, and risky.
It requires:

• Selective handpicking

• Careful fermentation and drying

• More labour hours

• More equipment

• More infrastructure

• More chance of something going wrong

When commodity coffee is suddenly paying very good prices, many farmers understandably choose the lower-risk route: selling their harvest as non-specialty coffee instead.

If they can earn nearly the same (or sometimes more) with far less investment, specialty production becomes harder to justify - especially for smaller farmers.

This shift affects everything from large regional blends to tiny microlots. And it’s a big reason why coffees from some origins (such as Colombia) have been harder for us to secure at the quality level we insist on.

Why we haven’t had a Colombian coffee recently

Colombia is one of our most popular origins, and normally a reliable source for beautifully clean, sweet, well-processed coffees. But with the current market conditions, many Colombian producers have moved toward selling commercial-grade coffee at high prices rather than investing in specialty lots.

The result?

• Fewer high-quality lots available

• Higher risk of defects in what is available

• Much higher prices for coffees that don’t meet our standards

Rather than offering a Colombian that doesn’t taste right, we’ve chosen to temporarily step away until we can secure something genuinely good.

How this affects you (and your cup)

We want you to know that:

• We’re still sourcing as carefully as ever

• We won’t compromise on quality just to fill a gap

• We’ll only bring in coffees we believe in

But you may notice temporary changes, such as:

• Certain origins rotating out more often

• Occasional gaps in popular single origins

• Price increases on some higher-end coffees

We believe transparency matters. If we’re changing something - whether it’s a price point or an origin - we want you to understand why.

We’re committed to staying selective

The longest-lasting relationships in speciality coffee are built on trust - between farmers, importers, roasters, and you. Even in a turbulent market, we’re committed to:

• Paying fairly

• Buying responsibly

• Choosing quality over convenience

• Supporting producers who invest in better farming and processing

Sometimes that means stepping back from an origin until the right coffee becomes available. Other times it means bringing in lesser-known regions that are offering exceptional value and quality.

But it always means keeping quality first.

What the future might look like

No one knows how long the high market will last. Prices could stabilise, or volatility could continue. What we do know is that:

• Speciality coffee is under more pressure than usual

• Producers are making tough decisions

• Importers and small roasters are feeling the squeeze

• Some cafés and roasteries may adapt by changing their offerings

Our plan?
To stay honest, stay flexible, and keep offering the best coffees we can - even if it means taking the scenic route to get there.