Price of coffee percolating up

Coffee shops across Sonoma County have been raising the the price for a cup of joe up to about a quarter because of rising costs -- not just for the beans -- but also for milk, paper and gas.

That's a significant hit to Sonoma County residents who drink their fair share of coffee. In fact, Santa Rosa has more coffee shops per capita than almost any city in the United States, according to a 2005 survey.

People who like to dip a muffin or scone into their coffee will pay even more, as the prices of sugar and flour have surged in the last year, increasing the cost of baked goods.

"I just hate to see the price of everything going up so much," said Dayna Irvine, co-owner of A'Roma Roasters Coffee and Tea in Santa Rosa. "This is the most I've ever seen."

A'Roma Roasters has raised its price for a cup of coffee twice in the past year -- from $1.40 to $1.75.

Still, the company is absorbing some of the spiraling costs, said Irvine, who co-founded the coffee shop about 17 years ago.

Some quick facts:

A'Roma Roasters goes through about 460 gallons of milk a month and 24,000 paper cups.

Milk wholesale prices have jumped from about $2.50 a gallon a year ago to $2.75 now, and the cost of a cup has increased about 25 percent to 11 cents.

The coffee shop is spending $115 more on milk every month and about $480 more on cups.

Somehow, the company has to make up that estimated $7,140 in additional annual costs. That's just for two components that go into serving a hot cup of coffee. The price for coffee beans has increased 23 percent during the past six months.

The rising price of gas has some delivery companies charging a "gas service fee" of about $15 for every delivery, Irvine said. She now drives to Costco and buys the milk herself, and compares the prices of everything she buys.

"We do price checks at least once a month with the four main vendors," she said. "You have to really stay on top of it."

The coffee shop buys its pastries from Artisan Bakers in Sonoma, which recently raised its prices.

"We'll eat that cost difference for now," Irvine said.

Sonoma Muffin Works, a bakery in Sebastopol, increased its prices two weeks ago. An almond croissant that used to cost coffee shops 99 cents wholesale, now goes for $1.12. A chocolate chip cookie has gone from 65 cents to 75 cents, and a 90-cent cheese bagel now costs 99 cents.

Several factors play into the price increases. A weaker dollar makes imports more expensive, and increases the price of American commodities such as wheat and corn as other countries with stronger currencies bid up the prices. This makes it more expensive to feed dairy cows and increases the cost of flour used in bread.

Investors speculating in the commodities market are driving up the cost of coffee beans, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Paper prices have increased because of growing demand from China and India, and that increases the cost of a coffee cup, said Jeff Benson, sales manager with Armstrong Paper Group in Santa Rosa.

"The price of paper across the board is increasing," he said. "Everybody is getting squeezed."

The price of paper cups, which used to increase once a year, now increases about every two months, Benson said.

"It's the worst I've seen," he said. "There is no end in sight."

That's bad news for coffee drinkers, who on average drink 2.6 cups a day, according to the University of Washington.

Santa Rosa has its fair share of coffee drinkers, ranking 10th among U.S. cities for coffee shops per capita, according to a 2005 survey by the NPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y.-based private research company.

Flying Goat Coffee has managed to raise the price of its cup of coffee by only 10 cents.

"But just because we haven't raised prices yet, doesn't mean we won't soon," said co-owner Philip Anacker. "It's just the reality. It will have to happen."

You can reach Staff Writer Nathan Halverson at 521-5494 or nathan.halverson@

pressdemocrat.com.