Coffee prices in the cup may be heading up — at least in the Philippines, where cafés are bracing for a lean harvest and rising bean costs.
The news in brief
According to the Philippine Coffee Board Inc. (PCBI), coffee lovers may soon pay more for their daily brew as lower domestic production and rising shipping costs weigh on the country's coffee industry. PCBI spokesperson Ceasario Kapunan said prices may increase due to a lower projected output of local beans and the higher cost of moving coffee products around the country.
On the ground, the squeeze is already real. Bernardo Sotelo Jr., head barista at Masa Bakehouse in La Union, said rising bean costs could force the café to raise drink prices once its current stocks run out. The shop has already adjusted its sourcing: where it once used Brazilian single-origin beans, it has shifted to a more affordable blend of local beans from Sultan Kudarat and Indonesian beans. "Once stocks run low and we have to return to single-origin coffee, prices will really increase," he said.
The numbers behind it: imported Brazilian beans currently cost around P650 per kilo, Arabica sits between P700 and P750 per kilo, and beans from Benguet fetch P750 to as high as P900 per kilo. Kapunan noted that big chains buying in bulk can absorb and even steer market prices — it is the small mom-and-pop shops that feel the pinch first.
The broader picture is mixed rather than bleak: global exports actually rose 14.6 percent in August 2026, and Brazil's record crop has been pushing some prices down. But for cafés dependent on specific origins, volatility at the farm gate still lands on the menu board.
What this means for home brewers
Our take: every price swing at origin is a reminder of the cheapest trick in coffee — brewing it yourself. A 16g dose of whole beans brewed well beats a mediocre café cup, and a bag that makes 15 shots at home costs less than three takeaway lattes. When bean prices wobble, the drinker with a grinder and a portable brewer like the PURA NEO Pro barely notices.
Source: "Bad news for coffee lovers: Lean harvest may lead to higher coffee prices" by Adrian Kenneth Halili, The Philippine Star, October 19, 2026. Read the full story: philstar.com.