The cost of coffee is on the rise, and I’m not just talking about those rare beans that will set you back over R1 000 a cup.

For the past several years, coffee prices were falling. Then, in recent weeks, prices increased from a low of $0,93 (roughly R13,60) to $1,16 (roughly R17) per pound.

Meanwhile, globally people can’t get enough of the stuff. According to Forbes, two billion cups of coffee are consumed per day, worldwide.

It’s not that surprising if you consider all of the health benefits that a daily cup will afford you. I know I can’t function without at least two cups of good coffee in my system.

Anyway, back to the sudden price hike, which has a lot to do with a decline in production in Latin America.

Rust fungus, or ‘roya’ in Spanish, is an insidious plant disease which grows quickly in dry, warm climates, destroying entire coffee plantations. In Honduras, five years of droughts have devastated crops, including coffee, and rust fungus threatens what is left.

Other threats to coffee plantations include the loss of plant biodiversity, which can affect coffee growers on a global scale.

Wild coffee plants provide important genetic diversity that can enhance commercial varieties, so their disappearance could have lasting consequences for farmers.

“The first full assessment of risks to the world’s coffee plants shows that 60% of 124 known species are on the edge of extinction. More than 100 types of coffee tree grow naturally in forests, including two used for the coffeewe drink. Scientists say the figure is ‘worrying’, as wild coffee is critical for sustaining the global coffee crop,” according to the BBC.

As production drops, and demand remains the same (or increases exponentially as the end of the year approaches), so the price of beans rises.

One way you can help by buying ethically sourced coffee, and only using brands that you trust. You should also choose quality every time, and if that quality comes at an affordable price, even better.

We always go with Importers Coffee – the oldest coffee brand in the Western Cape.

The company imports top quality coffees from the world’s leading equatorial coffee growing regions, and they use the same coffee-brewing methods that have made them such a favourite over the years.

If you’re in the ‘burbs, swing by their famous shop in Newlands, and townies can grab a cup at Café du Cap (113 Loop Street).

For those who don’t want to face the world, stock up on their pods and beans to use at home.

[source:forbes]