Gord Fitzpatrick has had seen the spike in coffee prices first hand.
“This is the highest the prices have been,” said the owner of Kafia International Coffee and master roaster. “It peaked around September or October and has dipped slightly, but still high.”
Fitzpatrick imports “green bean” coffee, the unroasted crop bought from wholesalers that finds its way to local roasters like Kafia.
“Two years ago I was able to get green beans for $3 a pound, now my average cost is between $7 or $8 a pound,” Fitzpatrick said.
Statistics Canada data shows the cost of coffee began rising rapidly at the end of 2024.
Fitzpatrick said tariffs, which spiked last spring, forced him to change how he works with wholesalers.
“Overnight [the U.S.] put 50 per cent tariffs on Brazilian coffee, and the price of my beans went up by 50 per cent.”
“My brokers were phoning me saying, ‘Do you want Brazilian coffee?’ I had to adapt, and now I can get it from my Canadian brokers at half price.”
Fitzpatrick says the tariffs have contributed to increased competition in the global market for coffee, especially for beans from Brazil and Colombia, two of the world’s largest producers and suppliers of the Canadian coffee market.
“All the American sellers canceled their contracts with Brazil, and Europeans bought up all the Brazilian beans with no tariffs,” Fitzpatrick said.
Canadians drink a lot of coffee. The Coffee Association of Canada, more than 71 per cent of Canadian adults drank a coffee a day in 2025.
Statistics Canada has reported the country imported nearly $160 million worth of coffee in February 2026 alone.
Supply chain disruptions and extreme weather are contributing to a rise in prices.
While tariffs are the primary driver, Fitzpatrick says extreme weather also impacts the price.
“About two years ago, Brazil had a bad growing season. And when Brazil has a bad growing season, the coffee prices start increasing,” Fitzpatrick said.
All of this has contributed to Fitzpatrick having to raise his prices, something he says is happening across the supply chain.
“If I’m raising my prices by $1, my wholesaler’s raising by $1.50, and the retailer’s raising by $2.50. Everyone’s gotta make profit down the way.”
He says prices are also climbing among other Ottawa roasters and customers take notice.
“It’s not me raising simply raising my prices or a fellow roaster raising their prices — we are all raising our prices,” Fitzpatrick said. “We have customers who come in and say we’ve raised our prices in the past month, but then it’s an opportunity to explain to them why.”
Fitzpatrick says rising prices are always a point of frustration and says he wants to lower them as soon as possible.
“I wanted every single one of my coffees under $20 and last year I had to raise one of ’em to $21,” Fitzpatrick said. “I long for the day I can bring that back down.”
Still, Fitzpatrick says, demand hasn’t diminished. He says Kafia’s retail sales have grown grew more than 75 per cent since April, 2025.
“I think our variety of coffee keeps them coming back,” Fitzpatrick said. “I know a lot of my customers and I try to find things that suit their flavour profile.”
