A pound of ground coffee in US supermarkets averaged $4.14 in 2019. In July 2026 it was $9.32 — up 125%. The record was set in April: $9.70. Groceries overall rose 33% in the same period, so if coffee had just tracked food inflation, a pound would cost about $5.50.
For scale: the previous all-time high was $6.07, set back in 2012. For most of the last four decades the price sat between $3 and $5.
Why it happened: Brazil grows more coffee than anyone (~45% of the world’s arabica), and its harvests failed twice in five years, a rare frost in July 2021 (−27%) and a severe drought in 2024 (−15%). The world market price of raw beans went from a 1992–2019 average of ~132 cents/lb to a record 410 cents in November 2025. Retail prices follow the world market with a lag of about six months.
This series is specifically ground roast, the product hit hardest, the broader CPI coffee item (which includes pods and instant, where beans are a smaller share of the cost) is up about 55%.
Surely the price will come down once these negative factors are reduced, right? …… right?
All of our grinding refineries are down for maintenance.
As an avid coffee drinker… Yuuuppp. I don’t drink alcohol or sodas… Just black coffee and water, so I justify it that way… But man. The amount of times nowadays that a treat myself to some fancy expensive coffee is getting pretty far between…
Also just checked. Back in Sept 2023 I bought a 12 oz bag for $4. Now it’s 6.50…
Edit: yes, $6.50 is cheap. that’s Walmart’s great value brand in a low cost of living area. A local roastery I also buy from is around $15-$16. I just don’t have historical data for those.
Great chart! Looks like the spikes have been (mostly) caused by bad weather and crop killers in South America. I wonder how this stacks up against other crop-based products’ price surges when they encounter similar hurdles.
How does it compare to unground coffee beans? In other words, is the margin for having it pre-ground growing, or is that margin flat and the cost of the underlying beans is growing?
I switched to whole bean and grind it myself over a decade ago and I’ve not noticed that much of an increase. Though the brand I used to get from went from like $50 for a 5 pound bag to now the same coffee is like $75, so a 50% increase.
Tariffs will make America richer!
What about price gouging and tariffs? They raised their prices after Trump’s bullshit tariffs and didn’t lower them when the tariffs were rescinded.
Why haven’t the tariffs created the domestic coffee industry and lowered prices?
/s
I’ve watched speciality coffee beans rise in the last decade from $12 a bag to $14 to $18 to $20 and just this week, I paid $24 for a 10oz bag.
LPT: don’t go down the rabbit hole of trying the good stuff.
I pay about $18 for a 32oz bag of locally roasted beans. That’s on a sale day, aka beans are at their end freshness.
I roast my own coffee. From one of the more popular green coffee websites, you can expect to pay ~ $8/lb including shipping for 20 pounds at a time. Including weight loss, you’re closer to $9/lb for roasted specialty coffee. A few years ago it was about $2/lb less.
I like quality coffee. I used to roast my own. Then I moved and found excellent roasted coffee for a great price. Then I switched to decaf and started buying toasted decaf from the vendor where I used to get my green beans years ago.
The price increases just became too much. I ended up switching to green beans from another vendor and am roasting again.
16¢/shot for excellent coffee.
Wasn’t there tariffs imposed on coffee producing countries like Brazil?
Not surprising. Take a look at how many ounces you’re getting these days.
If you thought this was bad…..just wait till knock on effects start being felt from climate change. Had a classmate do a paper not long ago…and if you survive on coffee…have fun.
Is the extra money going to the kids at the cacao plantation at least?
good thing I only drink whole bean.
What about coffee that wasn’t on the ground? 🤔
I literally just went on a rant this morning about this. I went to order coffee this morning and it’s up 56% since January. Probably in even less time, that was just the first past order I chose.
![[OC] Ground coffee prices are up 125% in the United States since 2019](https://www.europesays.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/1788201919-1920x1024.png)
25 comments
Data source:
– [https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/APU0000717311](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/APU0000717311)
– [https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CUSR0000SAF11](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CUSR0000SAF11)
Tools used: Matplotlib
Some context behind the chart:
A pound of ground coffee in US supermarkets averaged $4.14 in 2019. In July 2026 it was $9.32 — up 125%. The record was set in April: $9.70. Groceries overall rose 33% in the same period, so if coffee had just tracked food inflation, a pound would cost about $5.50.
For scale: the previous all-time high was $6.07, set back in 2012. For most of the last four decades the price sat between $3 and $5.
Why it happened: Brazil grows more coffee than anyone (~45% of the world’s arabica), and its harvests failed twice in five years, a rare frost in July 2021 (−27%) and a severe drought in 2024 (−15%). The world market price of raw beans went from a 1992–2019 average of ~132 cents/lb to a record 410 cents in November 2025. Retail prices follow the world market with a lag of about six months.
This series is specifically ground roast, the product hit hardest, the broader CPI coffee item (which includes pods and instant, where beans are a smaller share of the cost) is up about 55%.
Full story: [https://chartnews.substack.com/p/can-americans-still-afford-coffee](https://chartnews.substack.com/p/can-americans-still-afford-coffee)
Surely the price will come down once these negative factors are reduced, right? …… right?
All of our grinding refineries are down for maintenance.
As an avid coffee drinker… Yuuuppp. I don’t drink alcohol or sodas… Just black coffee and water, so I justify it that way… But man. The amount of times nowadays that a treat myself to some fancy expensive coffee is getting pretty far between…
Also just checked. Back in Sept 2023 I bought a 12 oz bag for $4. Now it’s 6.50…
Edit: yes, $6.50 is cheap. that’s Walmart’s great value brand in a low cost of living area. A local roastery I also buy from is around $15-$16. I just don’t have historical data for those.
Great chart! Looks like the spikes have been (mostly) caused by bad weather and crop killers in South America. I wonder how this stacks up against other crop-based products’ price surges when they encounter similar hurdles.
How does it compare to unground coffee beans? In other words, is the margin for having it pre-ground growing, or is that margin flat and the cost of the underlying beans is growing?
I switched to whole bean and grind it myself over a decade ago and I’ve not noticed that much of an increase. Though the brand I used to get from went from like $50 for a 5 pound bag to now the same coffee is like $75, so a 50% increase.
Tariffs will make America richer!
What about price gouging and tariffs? They raised their prices after Trump’s bullshit tariffs and didn’t lower them when the tariffs were rescinded.
Why haven’t the tariffs created the domestic coffee industry and lowered prices?
/s
I’ve watched speciality coffee beans rise in the last decade from $12 a bag to $14 to $18 to $20 and just this week, I paid $24 for a 10oz bag.
LPT: don’t go down the rabbit hole of trying the good stuff.
I pay about $18 for a 32oz bag of locally roasted beans. That’s on a sale day, aka beans are at their end freshness.
I roast my own coffee. From one of the more popular green coffee websites, you can expect to pay ~ $8/lb including shipping for 20 pounds at a time. Including weight loss, you’re closer to $9/lb for roasted specialty coffee. A few years ago it was about $2/lb less.
I like quality coffee. I used to roast my own. Then I moved and found excellent roasted coffee for a great price. Then I switched to decaf and started buying toasted decaf from the vendor where I used to get my green beans years ago.
The price increases just became too much. I ended up switching to green beans from another vendor and am roasting again.
16¢/shot for excellent coffee.
Wasn’t there tariffs imposed on coffee producing countries like Brazil?
Not surprising. Take a look at how many ounces you’re getting these days.
If you thought this was bad…..just wait till knock on effects start being felt from climate change. Had a classmate do a paper not long ago…and if you survive on coffee…have fun.
Is the extra money going to the kids at the cacao plantation at least?
good thing I only drink whole bean.
What about coffee that wasn’t on the ground? 🤔
I literally just went on a rant this morning about this. I went to order coffee this morning and it’s up 56% since January. Probably in even less time, that was just the first past order I chose.
https://preview.redd.it/ditxbycsnqmh1.jpeg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=65695b1eb4a334714e60db10678259b963630486
Yeah it sucks it seems like anything with true value is up way more than the rate of inflation
“Maybe if you didn’t spend $10 on coffee” motherfucker maybe if you weren’t charging $10 for coffee god damn
That’s why I buy whole bean.
Gee thanks republican voters
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