Why Your Morning Fuel Costs More

Out in the wild you might’ve noticed your coffee’s gotten a little more expensive lately.

Whether it’s your morning takeaway or a new price tag at your local café — it’s not just you. And it’s not just inflation.

The truth is, coffee’s in a bit of a storm right now — and we’re all in the boat together.

So what’s going on?

Since early 2024, the cost of green (unroasted) coffee has surged — and there’s no sign of it easing. Why?

A few things:

• Years of poor harvests* in Brazil, Colombia, and Vietnam

• Extreme weather: droughts, erratic rainfall, smaller yields

• Global shipping and fuel costs are up

• And the Australian dollar is weaker than usual, which makes importing anything — especially coffee — more expensive

  
  

That’s before we even get to freight, labour, roasting, packaging, and running a small business - heeeello power bills!

And unlike past spikes, this isn’t a temporary blip. Climate volatility, supply-demand imbalances, and structural cost increases are all pointing to a new normal. Prices aren’t likely to return to pre-2020 levels anytime soon.

But there’s a silver lining

For once, the rising prices are allowing more fair compensation for coffee farmers — especially those producing high-quality, specialty-grade beans. It’s not just about survival anymore. It’s about sustainability — long-term investment, better livelihoods, and better coffee for all of us. Only the good stuff - we don’t buy commodity coffee

We buy specialty coffee — the good stuff. That means paying farmers well above the market rate to get beautiful, ethical, traceable beans. Add quality premiums, roasting loss, freight, compostable packaging, equipment, utilities… you get the idea.

So what are we doing about it at Pirate?

First off — we’re holding our retail bean prices in-store and online for as long as we possibly can.

AND we'll keep rolling out our Pirate Perks to give you more value where it counts:

• Free takeaway coffee when you buy a retail bag in store at HQ

• BYO container refills launching soon (less waste, more savings)

• New single origins and microlots thanks to Damo’s obsessive bean sourcing (he doesn’t sleep. He cupps.)

  
  

Keep the good stuff flowing - drink good (locally!)

We’ve also made small wholesale price shifts to support our café partners — many of whom are doing it tough. So if your favourite café has nudged their price up, know that it’s helping them stay afloat, pay staff properly, and keep slinging great coffee. Keep drinking the good stuff locally when you can!

We’re here for the long game — and we’re grateful to brew for you.

Thanks for backing the crew.

— Tracey + Damo Drink Good. Do Good. Stay Legendary. *Wait, coffee grows on trees?

It does! Coffee is a fruit. The beans we roast are actually the seeds of bright red cherries grown in tropical mountain regions — often by small-scale farmers in places like Brazil, Colombia, and Vietnam. And like all crops, it’s vulnerable to weather, markets, and global supply chain chaos.