LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — The rising cost of coffee is impacting your morning cup of joe.
Coffee shops in Luzerne County, like Common Grounds Caffé in Kingston, are seeing price hikes from suppliers.
"If they raise the price, we are almost forced to raise the price. We do our best not to. We want to stay loyal to our customers and keep things consistent," said manager Anthony Altieri.
The hike comes after drought conditions and a cold snap impacted coffee crops in Brazil.
We found people lining up for their coffee at Pour Coffee House in Wilkes-Barre. The staff there say they've already had to pass on some of the extra cost to customers.
"We have in the past, but we are still a lot more affordable than the more competitive chains. We keep our prices as low as possible," said Katie Nelson.
On top of rising coffee prices, shops in our area say they are also facing supply issues, like getting cups.
"For me as the manager, I do the shopping, and we have to bounce back and forth to see what the best price is and where to go without compromising the integrity of our product," explains Altieri.
"The additives are popular too, which have also gone up in price, like the dairy products and everything we use. So all of those additives are extra," said Nelson.
The shops go through several pounds of coffee each day. As a small business, baristas say it's more personal than just a cup of coffee.
"It's not a nameless thing; there is no drive-thru like, 'Hey, the price has gone up.' It's like, 'Hey, Carol, I'm sorry the price went up,' so it's a constant conversation with everybody," said Altieri
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