Spatula Diaries: Why your coffee costs more

“Coffee fans nationwide have experienced sticker shock over the last year when tossing their favorite brands into the grocery cart,” writes 225 magazine food blogger Maggie Heyn Richardson. “Coffee is more expensive than ever. Two Baton Rouge-based brands, Community Coffee and River Road Coffees, have both had to hike prices, along with national brands Dunkin Donuts, Folgers, Starbucks, Maxwell House and others. I spoke with John and Ian Melancon of River Road Coffees last week, whose comments mirrored those swirling in the coffee world: The price increases of green coffee, the raw material imported by stateside coffee producers, stems from a handful of factors, including increased demand for coffee among emerging economies that formerly didn’t consume it (China being one); sustained demand in traditional coffee markets, like the U.S.; pests and other challenges in Brazil and Colombia; and speculative trading in coffee futures, which, like the stock market, can fluctuate wildly.” To find out more about why your morning java fix is costing you more these days, click here.