As regular readers will now, we generally like to give our blogs a fun twist. We like to track down the weirdest coffee fads or most interesting health research and generally share our love of all things coffee. There’s something happening right now though that we can’t give any kind of twist to, and that’s a desperate shortage of high quality arabica coffee. Arabica is the more expensive and better flavoured of the two main varieties (the other being robusta), and it accounts for around two thirds of world production.
The shortage has mostly been caused by extreme weather conditions such as unusual frosts destroying crops. There’s also been a knock-on effect from Covid which has affected shipping worldwide. This isn’t a problem with a short-term solution, as growers will have to wait for crops to recover.
This has meant a rise in arabica bean prices of up to 80%, and it’s left retailers with a problem. Do they put prices up dramatically, or compromise on quality by mixing cheaper robusta beans into the mix? Sourcing beans at all is also more difficult as more retailers are chasing less supply.
Here at the Wholesale Coffee Company, we faced the same dilemma as everyone else. We’ve decided that we can’t compromise on our quality as our customers have got used to a certain standard and trust us to supply it. While we are having to pass a cost increase onto our customers, we are absorbing the majority of the increase ourselves to thank customers for their loyalty.
While our prices may unavoidably have to alter a little from time to time, you can rest assured that our quality won’t – our blends will taste as delicious as ever. To find out more about our coffee, all available at great wholesale prices, visit the coffee beans page of our website.