You’ll have noticed that our roasted coffee has recently gone up in price on our website. We don’t make decisions like this lightly — so here’s the full story of what’s been happening in coffee over the last year, how we’ve managed it until now, and why the reality of today’s market has finally caught up with us.

Coffee Prices Took Off in 2024

Coffee is traded on global commodity markets, just like oil or wheat. That means when the market price moves, it doesn’t just affect one roaster or one country — it ripples through the entire supply chain: from farmers at origin, to exporters moving coffee out of ports, to importers, and finally to roasters like us. Nobody is insulated when prices rise.

And in late 2024, prices didn’t just rise — they rocketed.

• By December 2024, the International Coffee Organisation’s arabica benchmark was trading well over 50% higher than just six months earlier.

• Specialty-grade coffees — the type we source, which already carry a premium above commodity rates — climbed even more steeply, as roasters around the world competed for limited lots.

• The causes were clear: smaller harvests in Brazil, El Niño droughts across Central America and Vietnam, and global stockpiles dropping to their lowest levels in decades.

In short: the green coffee we buy became dramatically more expensive, and the whole chain felt the squeeze.

How We Shielded You (Until Now)

If coffee prices jumped in 2024, why are you only seeing an increase from us now? Because for nearly 12 months, we absorbed those shocks.

• We had forward contracts secured before the worst of the increases.

• We managed stock carefully, amortising older contracts with newer, higher-priced ones, which meant our retail prices only rose steadily rather than in one sudden leap.

• We accepted tighter margins instead of immediately passing the full cost onto you.

Think of it like a fixed-rate mortgage: for a while, our contracts protected us from the jump in market rates. But eventually, those protections expire. As we move into our 2025/26 coffee contracts, we’re now buying coffee at current market prices — and they’re significantly higher than what we were paying before.

Other Costs Add Up

While green coffee is the biggest factor, it isn’t the only one:

• Freight costs jumped again in late 2024, up ~25% as global shipping routes were disrupted.

• Energy prices — which power our roasters, storage, and packaging lines — rose again through Q4 2024 and remain much higher than pre-crisis levels.

• Packaging costs for recyclable and compostable bags are up 10–15% year-on-year.

On their own, each of these increases is manageable. Together, they make holding prices flat impossible.

What Hasn’t Changed

Despite rising costs, some things remain exactly the same — and a few have actually improved:

• We continue to pay farmers fairly and work with trusted, sustainable partners.

• We’re still focused on quality first, never cutting corners to chase lower costs.

• And to improve your experience, we’ve upgraded our shipping — every order now goes out via a fully tracked next-day service, so your coffee arrives fresher, faster, and with complete peace of mind.

Looking Ahead

We’re not like Netflix — we don’t raise our prices just because we can. We only make changes when they’re absolutely necessary, and only when they’re backed up by clear market realities like the ones we’ve shared here.

Going forward, our goal is simple:

• To keep our prices as competitive as possible against the wider market.

• To continue offering some of the best value specialty coffee in the UK, without compromising on quality, sustainability or ethics.

• To make any future adjustments gradual and transparent, so you’re never hit by sudden surprises.

When markets calm, you’ll feel it. And when they rise, we’ll do everything we can to shield you — just as we have over the last year.

In Closing

We know price increases are never welcome, and we hope this gives you a clear picture of why they’ve become unavoidable. We’ve worked hard to delay and soften the impact, and we’ll continue to do everything we can to keep our coffee fairly priced, high quality, and the best part of your day.

We’re grateful for your support — and we hope you’ll continue to stick with us through this chapter. Every bag you buy helps us keep sourcing responsibly, roasting with care, and delivering the kind of coffee you look forward to every day.

Here’s to many more brews together.

If you have any questions at all, please feel free to email ole@stmartinscoffee.co.uk directly — Ole will personally get back to you and answer any and all queries.