How to Navigate Rising Coffee Prices in 2025
As we head into 2025, dealing with the ups and downs in the green coffee market has become more challenging. We don’t have all the answers, and solving these issues will take the whole specialty coffee community working together. But one thing we do know about is specialty coffee equipment.
If we can share a few ideas to help roasters everywhere, we’d love to do so.
The Problem: Rising Coffee Prices
In 2024, Arabica coffee prices hit $3.26 per pound—a 47-year high driven by global supply concerns. That’s a 70% jump, disrupting supply chains and budgets. Factors like extreme weather, weak supply chains, and low inventory caused this surge, as demand for coffee outpaced supply.
How It Affects Coffee Businesses
Green coffee price swings in 2025 are creating big challenges for everyone in the supply chain—from farmers to roasters. Here’s what’s happening and how the right equipment can help.
Unpredictable Costs and Margins
Price swings make it tough for coffee businesses to manage costs. For roasters, rising green coffee prices mean higher production costs, which often lead to higher retail prices. But higher prices can drive away cost-conscious customers, hurting profits.
By offering farmers long-term contracts with fair, stable prices, businesses can promote sustainable farming and reliable coffee quality. While unexpected weather can still affect crops, roasters can use automated color sorting to remove any defects caused by weather issues.
Quality and Sustainability Challenges
Price fluctuations also make it harder to invest in quality and sustainability. Farmers under financial pressure may focus on quantity over quality, knowing high prices won’t last.
When quality varies, roasters can use color sorters like the SOVDA Pearl Mini to handle defects like quakers. The adjustable sensitivity lets roasters control what’s kept and what’s removed.
Struggles for Small and Mid-Sized Businesses
Smaller roasters are hit hardest by rising prices. Without enough financial cushion, they struggle to absorb costs or handle supply shortages, putting profitability and market share at risk.
Automation can help these businesses work more efficiently. For example, a packing machine can cut bagging time in half, giving roasters more time to focus on marketing and sales—and saving money as they grow.
Roasters can also use color sorting to upgrade coffee quality by purchasing lower-grade coffee, such as grade two or three, which is typically less expensive, and removing the quakers at the roastery with a color sorter. “You’re taking some of the risk and some of the responsibility for the high quality that you’re asking producers to make.” —Roaster Kat.
While these challenges are real, they also open doors for innovation and growth. By building strong relationships with farmers, using tools like color sorters to maintain quality, and automating processes to save time and money, specialty coffee roasters can better navigate the uncertain coffee market.
