Well, it’s been a big two years for everyone riding the pandemic. Like many small businesses we have also been impacted. Due to an unfortunate series of devastating weather events and logistical complications as a result of COVID, the price of green bean coffee has increased. In addition, almost all business costs have risen, including freight, energy, packaging, waste removal, and equipment. We have tried to hold our pricing level for as long as possible over the last two years, but unfortunately we can no longer absorb these additional costs sustainability. Read on to learn more on why and our commitment to support growers.
What caused the increase in price?
Before the pandemic, green bean coffee prices were the lowest they had been in 15 years. Brazil is the largest producer of green coffee in the world, and they were the catalyst of the increase, due to a series of events:
- They had some of the worst droughts in history, causing low crop production.
- They experienced 2 severe frost events, which burnt a large portion of crops.
- Covid hit and they experienced massive logistical hurdles to get their already diminished crops to port to sell.
Brazil coffee crop and pricing dictates World markets, so with the shortage of coffee in world warehouses, the price of green coffee has increased by 60 - 100% in a few short months.
Outside of Brazil, there has also been a 15-20% shortage of green coffee in other coffee growing regions, mainly due to weather events and Covid complications. Around the world, growers have struggled to hire workers due to the government-based restrictions of people movement, and crossing borders, so crops ready to be picked and processed were unfortunately left rotting on the trees or on the side of the road due to reduced truck drivers. Read more about this in an Open Letter to our Jasper Community.
Is there some good to come out of this?
Yes, there is. For the first time in over 15 years, the price of coffee on the NYC stock market has risen and as a result, growers are being paid a better price for their product and a fair living wage. Yes, it does mean that we must pay a little more for our morning latte, or our bag of Blend #10, but knowing the growers and their families, and communities are benefiting from these increases, makes our morning brew just that little bit sweeter.
What’s the price increase?
We have worked hard to peg our price increases to a workable minimum in order to remain competitive with quality and service. Some coffees have increased more than others, while we have chosen to hold some prices static.
You can expect an increase of $1 - 3 across our 250g coffees. At our cafes, this calculates to additional $0.50 per cup. The range in price depends on coffees with higher or lower green beans, the quality and exclusivity of the coffee.
Why do we have different price ranges of coffee?
The good news is, having an extensive range of 50 coffee variants, we have been able to spread the price load across our coffees, so there is still an affordable option for everyone. We have also introduced a new value buy bulk option with all 1kg bags receiving 10% off.
Below is a summary of the four tiers of coffee:
- Tier 1 - our most affordable Blends
- Tier 2 - our all round favourite Blends and Single Origins
- Tier 3 - higher quality and delicious Blends and Single Origins, with a higher percentage of Tier 4 coffees in the recipe
- Tier 4 - the more difficult to source, exclusive and delicious coffees in the world
| Tier | Coffee | New Pricing 250g | 1kg pricing |
| 1 | Blend #1 | $14.00 | $50.00 |
| 1 | Blend #7 | $14.00 | $50.00 |
| 1 | Blend #9 | $14.00 | $50.00 |
| 1 | PNG Wild | $14.00 | $50.00 |
| 2 | East Timor Maubisse | $15.00 | $54.00 |
| 2 | Blend #2 | $15.00 | $54.00 |
| 2 | Blend #3 | $15.00 | $54.00 |
| 2 | Blend #4 | $15.00 | $54.00 |
| 2 | Blend #8 | $15.00 | $54.00 |
| 2 | Brasil Santos | $15.00 | $54.00 |
| 2 | Buzz Alley - Flanigan | $15.00 | $54.00 |
| 2 | Buzz Alley - Hosier | $15.00 | $54.00 |
| 2 | Caffeine Club | $15.00 | $54.00 |
| 2 | Honduras Copan Ruins | $15.00 | $54.00 |
| 2 | Mexico Chiapas | $15.00 | $54.00 |
| 2 | Nicaragua Matagalpa | $15.00 | $54.00 |
| 2 | PNG Okapa | $15.00 | $54.00 |
| 3 | Billy Dunne | $16.00 | $58.00 |
| 3 | Blend #10 | $16.00 | $58.00 |
| 3 | Blend #5 | $16.00 | $58.00 |
| 3 | Blend #6 | $16.00 | $58.00 |
| 3 | Café Femenino | $16.00 | $58.00 |
| 3 | Colombia Anei | $16.00 | $58.00 |
| 3 | Colombia Popayan | $16.00 | $58.00 |
| 3 | Ethiopia Djimma | $16.00 | $58.00 |
| 3 | India Grange | $16.00 | $58.00 |
| 3 | Isabel Blend | $16.00 | $58.00 |
| 3 | Juliet Blend | $16.00 | $58.00 |
| 3 | Kenya Peaberry | $16.00 | $58.00 |
| 3 | Red Dust | $16.00 | $58.00 |
| 3 | Sulawesi Kalosi Toraja | $16.00 | $58.00 |
| 3 | Sumatra Lintong | $16.00 | $58.00 |
| 4 | Cuban Star | $18.00 | $65.00 |
| 4 | Ethiopia Sidamo | $18.00 | $65.00 |
| 4 | Ethiopia Yirgacheffe | $18.00 | $65.00 |
| 4 | Kenya Fine Estate AA | $18.00 | $65.00 |
| 4 | Peru Decaf | $18.00 | $65.00 |
What about subscriptions?
The price increase is consistent across our subscription offering and we have maintained the additional 10% discount for all subscriptions and flexibility to cancel anytime.
If you have any further questions, please email hello(at)jaspercoffee.com or call us on (03)9416 1960.
