At Heroes Rise Coffee Company, we’ve always promised two things: world-class coffee and full transparency.
So when you start seeing small price increases on certain drinks or bags, we want you to understand why.
This isn’t a story about greed — it’s a story about weather, logistics, quality, and doing right by farmers around the world.
🌍 1. Global Coffee Supply Is Tight
Coffee is a crop, and crops live or die by weather. The last two years have been a perfect storm:
- Brazil, the world’s #1 producer, faced severe drought conditions in 2024 that shrank its arabica crop.
- Vietnam, the top robusta producer, battled drought and record heat, which cut yields and spiked prices.
- Colombia, famous for high-end washed arabica, saw heavy rainfall that disrupted flowering — meaning smaller harvests in 2025–2026.
- Meanwhile, shipping costs and reroutes around the Red Sea/Suez Canal added delays and raised freight prices globally.
When fewer coffee bags make it out of the fields and onto ships, the entire global market tightens.
📈 2. The Coffee Market (C-Market) Is at Record Highs
The “C-market” — the global futures market that sets base prices for arabica beans — has surged in 2025.
When that price rises, every contract down the line — from farmer to exporter to roaster — follows.
That means the green coffee beans we buy before roasting have already jumped in price before they even hit our roastery in Great Falls.
🚢 3. Shipping & Logistics Are Still a Mess
Because of ongoing security issues near the Suez Canal, many shipping companies now reroute around Africa.
That adds 10–14 extra days of travel, higher fuel costs, and higher insurance.
When a container of coffee beans costs 20–40% more to move, it ripples through every step of the supply chain.
⚙️ 4. Farm Costs Keep Climbing
Farmers face rising fertilizer prices (up roughly 15% so far in 2025), labor shortages, and stricter compliance requirements.
Programs like the EU’s new deforestation-free regulation are great for sustainability — but they also require expensive traceability systems, satellite mapping, and audits.
We’re proud to support farmers who do things the right way, even when it costs more.
🇨🇴☀️ 5. Why We Use Heavier Colombian & Kenyan Coffees — and Why They Cost More
Colombia
We love Colombian coffee because it’s balanced, chocolatey, and beautifully smooth — a cornerstone for many of our blends.
But quality comes at a price:
- Heavy rains have hurt flowering and reduced yields this year.
- Export logistics are more expensive due to infrastructure and exchange-rate swings.
- Colombia’s farmers are demanding — and deserve — fair pay for their premium, hand-picked beans.
Colombian coffee consistently ranks among the most sought-after arabicas in the world, and we’re not willing to replace that quality with cheaper fillers.
Kenya
Kenyan coffee is in a league of its own — bright, juicy, and full of wild berry notes.
The famed “AA” grade beans come from high-altitude farms, hand-sorted, washed, and auctioned in small lots.
- Kenya produces far less coffee overall, which makes every lot precious.
- Farmers harvest by hand, often making multiple passes to pick only ripe cherries.
- Specialty auction prices can reach $5–8 per pound or more — compared to $2–3 for standard arabicas.
We buy Kenyan because it makes your cup sing — and because it supports one of the most skilled coffee-growing communities on Earth.
💸 6. What This Means in Dollars & Cents
When you break down the cost of a bag of coffee, raw beans often make up 40% or more of the total.
So when green coffee prices spike 20–30%, there’s no way to absorb it all without small price changes downstream.
But rest assured — we’re absorbing everything we can first by tightening operations, refining logistics, and optimizing packaging before we ever touch our prices.
🤝 7. How Heroes Rise Coffee Is Responding
We believe in quality, transparency, and doing right by people.
Here’s what that looks like in action:
- We buy smart — not desperate. We lock in contracts early, diversify our origins, and avoid panic buying.
- We preserve flavor and ethics. We’ll never sacrifice the quality or values that define us just to save a few cents.
- We explain every change. When a cost increase happens, you’ll know exactly why.
- We pay fair. We’ll continue paying sustainable prices to farmers who treat their land and people well.
☕️ 8. Exploring More Budget-Friendly Coffees
We also know every dollar matters.
As we move forward, we’ll be exploring more affordable coffee origins to supplement our Colombian and Kenyan heavy blends — possibly adding Central American or Latin American coffees that maintain high quality but offer better pricing stability.
Our goal is simple:
Keep the quality high, keep the heart the same, and give everyone an option that fits their budget.
💬 FAQ
“Will coffee prices ever drop again?”
Possibly — but not overnight. It may take a few years of favorable weather and stable logistics to balance supply and demand again.
“Why not just switch to cheaper coffee?”
We could, but we won’t. Cheaper beans often mean inconsistent flavor, lower ethics, and broken promises to farmers. That’s not who we are.
“Is my money really making a difference?”
Yes. Every bag and every drink you buy supports farmers, importers, and local staff who believe coffee can still be done the right way.
🙏 9. Thank You for Backing a Values-Driven Cup
Heroes Rise Coffee isn’t just a business — it’s a mission.
We roast coffee that honors heroes in our communities and supports the heroes who grow it around the world.
So when you grab that next latte, bag, or cold brew, know that you’re not just buying coffee — you’re keeping farms alive, families supported, and integrity intact.
From all of us at Heroes Rise Coffee — thank you for believing in what we do.