#green-coffee

#green-coffee

Coffee prices at U.S. grocery stores continued to climb September amid higher costs for green coffee due to self-imposed tariffs and other market forces. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said the overall Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.3% from August and 3.0% from a year earlier. Food prices were up 0.2% on the month and 3.1% year over year. Within the grocery aisle, the "nonalcoholic beverages" category - which includes coffee - rose 0.7% on the month and 5.3% on the year.

In a room full of coffee roasters last week, longtime green coffee trader Mark Inman asked for a show of hands. How many people started buying green coffee professionally within the past few years? Approximately half the room raised a hand, to which Inman replied, "I'm sorry. I apologize. It does get better, trust me, but you're going to come out of the other end of this time with more knowledge than people who have been buying green coffee for 15, 20 years."

The annual Grounds for Health green coffee and equipment auction returns Thursday, Sept. 18, giving roasters an opportunity to buy special, traceable coffees while supporting the noble cause of women's health. With 100% of proceeds going to United States-based nonprofit Grounds for Health's programs - which includes cervical cancer screening and prevention in coffee-growing communities - the auction program has raised more than $1 million since 2009.