COFFEE lovers should prepare for a bitter taste in their mouth with the price of a cuppa to soar.
The cost of a cup of coffee could rise 50c a cup as roasters are forced to pay extra for supplies of quality beans, a Hobart coffee-roasting business owner says.
In the past 12 months the price of quality green coffee beans has nearly doubled.
"It has increased up to 40 per cent for the cost of our green coffee and it's still on the rise," said Richard Schramm, of Villino Specialty Coffee at Huntingfield, which supplies roast coffee for his cafe, Villino Espresso in Criterion St, and wholesale roasted coffee to local cafes and restaurants.
"As a specialty coffee wholesaler, we source only the highest-grade arabica beans, often from a single estate with small production volumes.
"As demand is increasing beyond supply for these specialty-grade beans, prices are inevitably rising."
The world price for arabica coffee has hit 13-year highs after successive poor seasons across the globe, a spike in demand for coffee in Asian countries like China and Japan and a weaker US dollar.
The trend is backed by the latest agricultural markets research published by agribusiness bank Rabobank, showing arabica coffee beans considered to produce a taste superior to robusta had reached prices not seen since the 1970s.
Mr Schramm said most businesses seemed to have absorbed increases so far but with green bean prices soaring that was not sustainable.
In Hobart, a coffee is priced at about $3.30 for a regular cup and $3.70 for a large.
He said there was concern in the industry.
Like Mr Schramm, other local cafe owners are delaying price rises.
Arabica coffee is used in most espresso coffee outlets in Australia.
Operators and consumers in bigger cities of Australia fear some cafes may source inferior beans to sustain cheaper coffees for customers.
(Source: http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2011/04/25/225211_tasmania-news.html)
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