High prices can’t stop us from drinking coffee, but they’re definitely changing our coffee-buying habits. Plus, how coffee waste can help purify polluted water, and Nestlé might sell Blue Bottle Coffee to Luckin.
‘High Coffee Prices Are Changing How Consumers Take Their Daily Brew’ – via Bloomberg
Retail coffee prices have been rising, prompting consumers to change how they drink coffee. But instead of cutting back on caffeine—perish the thought—people are shifting their habits and priorities. As Harry Black and Ilena Peng report for Bloomberg, some are choosing to visit more budget-friendly chains, make their coffee at home, or buy cheaper beans.
The commodity coffee price had been rising during 2024, but in 2025 it hit record highs due to climate impacts, lower inventory, and tariffs. Retail prices have gone up, too, as roasters and cafes passed on their increased costs to customers. U.S. grocery store coffee prices rose 21% in August compared to a year earlier, while the median price of a cup of coffee has climbed nearly 20% since 2023, according to data from point-of-sale provider Toast.
In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Kona Haque from the commodities trader EDF Man said that people “have not necessarily been cutting back coffee consumption.” Instead, they’ve been looking for cheaper options, or, as Haque put it, “trading down” to less expensive beans.
There’s data to back this up: RJ Hottovy, head of analytical research at Placer.ai, said that convenience stores and drive-thru chains like 7 Brew are seeing increased traffic, while established brands like Starbucks and Tim Hortons are struggling. A survey of international coffee consumers conducted in October found that 37% have started making coffee at home due to rising prices. Home coffee machine purchases in the U.K. rose 43% in November compared to a year earlier.
Despite tariff rollbacks, retail coffee prices are unlikely to fall anytime soon. In an interview with The Telegraph, Gerry Ford, founder of the U.K.-based chain Caffè Nero, said that even if the commodity price falls, most companies won’t lower their prices. “By and large, if costs come down, then [coffee shops] just won’t increase the prices for a longer length of time,” he said.
Read the full story on consumers’ changing coffee customs here or via CNBCTV18 here.
‘Spent Coffee Grounds Remove up to 98% of Lead and Metals From Contaminated Water’ – via Interesting Engineering
As you probably witness while brewing your morning cup, coffee creates a lot of waste. Worldwide, we produce between 15 million and 60 million tons of coffee grounds each year—although some is composted, much ends up in landfills. When in landfills, spent grounds release the potent greenhouse gas methane.
Researchers are constantly looking for ways to repurpose coffee grounds. Some have made biofuel and watches; others have used grounds to strengthen concrete.
In March, researchers found that coffee waste-derived biochar, a charcoal substance that acts like a filter, can remove a toxic herbicide from drinking water. Now, researchers are going further: two new studies have found that spent coffee grounds can remove toxic heavy metals from polluted water.
Both studies were conducted by researchers at the U.K.’s Loughborough University. The first, published in Biomass and Bioenergy, turned spent coffee grounds into biochar via pyrolysis, a chemical process that uses heat in the absence of oxygen. The biochar absorbed 98% of lead from a water sample.
In the second study, published in Clean Technologies, spent coffee grounds were used as-is, without any further processing, to remove copper and zinc from water samples. The researchers were able to remove 96% of the metals in samples with low metal concentrations. For higher concentration samples, the coffee performed better when mixed with biochar made from rice husks.
“Our studies show that what we often dismiss as waste, like spent coffee grounds, can actually become powerful materials in tackling environmental pollution,” said Dr Basmah Bushra, lead author on the second study. “This is a simple but effective illustration of circular-economy thinking in action.”
Read more on coffee’s purification possibilities here.
‘Luckin Coffee Is Considering Buying Blue Bottle From Nestlé’ – via Sprudge
Earlier this month, we brought you news that Nestlé was considering selling Blue Bottle Coffee, eight years after acquiring the specialty chain. The story, first reported by Reuters, was somewhat light on details—three sources said that selling Blue Bottle was one of several options under consideration by the Swiss multinational as part of a “strategic review.”
At the time the story was first reported, no potential buyers were identified. But now, the Chinese chain Luckin Coffee is rumoured to be interested.
In news first reported by Bloomberg, it seems Luckin and its backer, the private equity firm Centurium Capital, are scouting potential acquisitions “to boost its brand profile and expand in the premium coffee segment.” Another purported acquisition target is Lucky Ace International, the company that operates % Arabica’s 80+ locations in China.
According to Bloomberg, Luckin had also been considering a bid for Costa Coffee, which Coca-Cola has been looking to offload at a discount. However, the deal is not expected to move forward. The Financial Times reported last week that the beverage giant has been holding “last-ditch talks” with the private equity firm TDR Capital to make a sale happen.
Whether Luckin’s interest in Blue Bottle becomes more concrete remains to be seen. But as Zac Cadwalader writes for Sprudge, it is notable that Luckin, a company known for its speedy service and pared-down cafes, would look to buy a brand famous for expensive, architectural interiors and pour over coffee.
Read more on the latest coffee acquisition gossip here.
More News
‘Newest EUDR Delay Officially Adopted’ – via Global Coffee Report
‘Africa’s Coffee Exports Hit Record 1.18 Million Tons’ – via APA News
‘In East Asia, There Will Be More Than 200,000 Branded Coffee Shops Next Year, Market Is Now Dominated by Local Chains’ – via Comunicaffe
‘New Auction Record Set in Brazil’ – via Global Coffee Report
‘Colombia Coffee Report: Production and Prices Remain Historically High’ – via Daily Coffee News
The Week in Coffee Unionizing
We’re over a month into the Starbucks Workers United strike, and the union is continuing to pressure the company to finalize a first contract.
Last week, SBWU supporters held a rally at Starbucks’ Seattle headquarters, with some protesters camping out in front of the building. Union members also targeted two key Starbucks distribution centers in York County, Pennsylvania, and in Minden, Nevada, to block trucks from entering the facilities.
At the Pennsylvania protest, more than 100 people joined the picket line, and police arrested and cited 12 baristas and two union supporters. In Nevada, 32 union members were arrested for blocking the truck entrance to the facility. “Dozens of delivery trucks turned away from the picket line at the distribution center in Minden as picketers protested Starbucks’ serious and unresolved labor law violations,” SWBU said in a press release.
Starbucks insists that the ongoing strike has not impacted its business. “As we’ve said, 99% of our 17,000 U.S. locations remain open and welcoming customers — including many the union publicly stated would strike but never closed or have since reopened,” Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson said in a statement.
While the strike is ongoing, new Starbucks locations are still unionizing. Last week, workers at a store in western Kentucky and at two stores in Minnesota voted to unionize. “Winning the election at this store brings me a lot of hope about what may happen moving forward, especially because I care about the people I work with deeply,” Lucy Mullarky, a barista in St. Paul, told Bring Me the News.
Beyond the Headlines
‘How Coffee Shops Are Thriving by Sharing Space With Other Businesses’ by Haley Greene
‘Why Coffee From Ghana Matters’ by Daniel Muraga
‘Nestlé May Sell Blue Bottle Coffee. What Does That Mean for the Chain’s Union?’ by Fionn Pooler
