¿SABÍAS QUE? .... Coffee is a wild commodity

Welcome to our first edition of ¿Sabías que...? Where we drop a little knowledge with our community. On Guatemala, on coffee, on small business-ing as women, on the delicious treats we make from scratch. You know, the stuff you all ask us questions about at the register.

In this blog post, we're talking coffee prices. Whether it's tariffs or historic price hikes, coffee is all over the news lately. And we want to be transparent and educational with our community about how we choose our pricing model.

First, a little about our very unique Guatemalan coffees we offer at Convivio Cafe

 We source coffee ROASTED AT ORIGIN.

Our coffee is sourced and roasted entirely in Guatemala. In the typical coffee supply chain, producing countries do 90% of the work and end up with about 10% of the profit of a bag of beans. By keeping the growing, processing, roasting, and packaging in the producing country, we are ensuring much more money stays in the producing country.

Speaking of farmers, we source by BUILDING SUSTAINABLE RELATIONSHIPS.

We know every farmer we work with by name, and often their kids' names too! We believe in the importance of personal connections, which not only brings us fun but also allows us to track the coffee every step of the way—from cupping to roasting to packing.

We also pay BEYOND FAIR TRADE PRICES.

We believe in adequate compensation for the farmers we work with. We pay above Fair Trade prices to ensure farmers can invest in sustainable agriculture practices and enjoy better living conditions. Also, our farmer-roaster partner in Guatemala City, Gento,  reinvests 10% of profits into community programs in the communities where our coffee is grown. 

So, what's all the hype about the historical high prices of green coffee right now?

The global coffee industry is experiencing one of the most turbulent periods in history. As of February 2025, specialty coffee prices hit a record $4.00/pound, a 100% increase from this time last year - a historic rise indeed. This affects the price of any coffee, whether you're buying Convivio's beyond-fair trade or at the grocery store or a Starbucks latte.

A few things are contributing to these price hikes:

• Supply shortages in Brazil and Vietnam, the world's top producers

• Tariffs on other significant producing regions, Mexico and Colombia

• Climate change in general, and specific climate events in Central America this year

• Increasing cost of production for farmers, including wage increases, inflation on inputs, and transportation costs, is squeezing margins for producers.

• Labor shortages as migration flows north, and fewer folks in country to do the harvesting and processing of coffee

But honestly, coffee has been undervalued for a long time. And higher commodity prices in general benefit farmers, which we love! But it's a little more complex than that. As our farmer-roaster partner Gento put it so eloquently.

As an industry, we must reconsider how coffee is traded—ensuring more equity within our own supply chain and sharing risk by fostering circular relationships and long-term sustainable partnerships where we all profit.  Even when the market is down, our industry should poise the question, what is behind cheap coffee? And use this time as an opportunity to fix our industry, our business models, and evaluate more sustainable ways to trade coffee.

So, what are tariffs?

As you're probably aware, the tariff debate continues, and there is a lot of uncertainty about what this will mean in the long term. Generally, Guatemala will impose a 10% tariff on all goods imported into the U.S. Even though we can never grow enough coffee in the US (Hawaii is the only producing region) to meet the needs of US consumers, these tariffs will still include coffee.

For most coffee, tariff costs will be passed on to the consumer. This will also likely result in job losses in Guatemala. It makes it harder for producers to plan for the future and roasters to keep sourcing the coffees we love and believe in.

Overall, consumers can expect a 20% to 50% rise in coffee prices. While many roasters may opt to use cheaper coffees in their blends, the fact remains that producing any grade of coffee is more expensive now than it was years ago. Whether you're buying Convivio Café beyond Fair Trade, at the grocery store, or a Starbucks Latte, these price hikes and tariffs will affect the price of coffee in general.

So, what does all this mean for Convivio Café?

These things are forcing all specialty coffee companies, including Convivio Cafe, to explore new sourcing options to maintain quality and manage expenses.

We're sticking to our values. We will always pay beyond-Fair Trade prices. In fact, we were already paying about $4/pound to our producers before all this, so the impacts haven't been felt as heavily on us, which we're proud of. We are having to be creative about some of our coffees and our blends.

We've always had the goal to provide a quality, ethical cup of coffee for our friends at an accessible price. We're proud to report our cafe del día will not be going up in price, and you can always get a cup of delicious Guatemalan coffee and a champurrada for five bucks.

And if you want to support us and our farmers and roasters as we navigate these changes, here are a few ways to support:

• Book a coffee flight for a sampling 3 different coffees and taste the rainbow of flavors Guate hast to offer.

• Buy a bag of delicious farmer-roasted coffees next time you're in

  

• Come to our coffee class on May 22nd