Jerry Blevins visits Krankies Coffee in downtown Winston-Salem several times a week for his drip coffee and cream, minus the sugar.
Last month, Blevins noticed on the specialty roaster's café menu a 25-cent price increase for his cup of joe.
"It was $1.50 for the longest time," he said recently at Krankies on East Third Street as he and his friend, Glenn West, read the morning newspaper over a cup of coffee.
Coffee prices have been creeping up for more than a year — the price of a pound of raw beans has almost doubled in 12 months.
Blevins and West were among several local coffee drinkers, as well as sellers of coffee beans and beverages, who talked about how the rising price of coffee is affecting their drinking habits or way of doing business.
Chris Leiser, the head coffee roaster and green-coffee buyer for Krankies, said prices exploded around January but have since stabilized.
He estimated that Krankies is paying $1 to $2 more than a year ago for a pound of green coffee beans.
"We've had to raise our prices," Leiser said. "At the same time we want to keep getting quality coffee — high-end specialty coffee."
Six months ago, the starting price for a 12-ounce bag of roasted coffee at Krankies was $10. Now, the same product is between $12 and $13, he said.
So far, the roaster's increased prices have not affected business.
"We have our regular downturn during the summer, but I wouldn't say we've seen a huge drop in customer sales," Leiser said. "We're still getting great coffee in. We're working on building our relationship with importers and growers. I think that matters a lot, too, having good working relationships with the people you're getting your coffee from."
Still, he is concerned about the long-term effect on customers and business if prices continue to climb.
"How much is somebody willing to pay for a cup of coffee?" he said.
Kraft Foods Inc., makers of Maxwell House, raised prices 22 percent in March. Other price increases came from J.M. Smucker Co., which makes Folgers, and Starbucks Corp.
At Lowes Foods, company spokeswoman Lisa Selip checked some of the supermarket chain's top coffee sellers for the past six months. She found that an 11.3 ounce package of Folgers rose 50 cents to $4.99, and an 11-ounce package of Maxwell House increased 70 cents to $4.99 since January.
To help combat the higher prices, Lowes Foods offers a private-label coffee that costs $3.36 for 11 ounces, up 41 cents from six months ago, Selip said.
Lowes Foods officials don't expect coffee prices to go down anytime soon.
"But it does seem like it has stabilized, which is always encouraging," Selip said.
Harris Teeter is competitive with its 13- and 34.5-ounce cans of Harris Teeter Classic Roast private brand, said Catherine Reuhl, a company spokeswoman.
"We do everything we can to combat price increases on behalf of our shoppers and try very hard to keep our retails relevant," she said.
Even discount stores have raised prices. Costco's wholesale coffee costs increased about 25 percent over the past year; retail prices have gone up 10 percent as a result.
Price increases are the result of higher demand worldwide. Coffee imports have increased by 23 percent over the past decade, according to data from the International Coffee Organization.
Meanwhile, coffee futures rose 57 percent in the past year.
The high coffee prices have local consumers wondering what they'd do if they couldn't afford their beverage of choice.
Blevins and West, both of Winston-Salem, said they'd probably cut down on their trips to specialty coffeehouses.
"I might buy my own beans or maybe a lower grade of bean," West said.
Butch Hasty of Winston-Salem described himself as a bargain hunter who likes good coffee. He keeps a close check on anything he buys and is not surprised by the current cost of coffee.
"Everything is going up," Hasty said.
His wife, Sherry, said she now splurges just once a week for a latte or other specialty drink at a coffeehouse.
But some coffee drinkers have no plans to cut back.
Mary Jane Skelly of Winston-Salem drinks three to four cups of specialty coffee a day. She buys drinks from coffeehouses but usually purchases beans and brews her own at home.
"Coffee for me is like a necessary expense," Skelly said. "So whatever it costs is what I will pay for it because it is something that I need to function."
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