[BikerJoe]

I had stocked up on coffee last year and finally ran out.

What we bought for $8.00 last year is now $14.00!!!!!

But, there's no inflation, and unemployment is low, so it's all good.

Holy Cow!!!!!

[reformedliberal]

What I do is keep buying fresh at the best price I can find. When I have used up a couple of weeks worth, I replace it and also buy some for the current period. So, we have about 30 weeks worth in storage and 2 weeks worth open and in use.

Yes, the price has increased dramatically. However, when I do a monthly shopping, I go to several different stores and I can still find coffee for $7-8/pound, buying in 12 oz packages. Aldi’s has Costa Rican beans for $4.99/12oz, for example and Walmart has Sumatra ground for $5.48/12 oz. 2.5 pounds of Fair Trade Arabica Expresso roast at Sam’s was (IIRC) around $14.

Rotate and replace. Watch for specials. With food, you have to learn to use it if it is not something you normally buy, so I will buy one or two of something and try it out before stocking up.

[Girlene]

I just noticed the price of coffee has gone up a lot in just the last couple of weeks. Wonder what’s up with that.

[ThanhPhero]

The local low end grocery store recently started carrying coffee in 1#10oz bags for just under $4. I tried one a while ago and found it to be much better coffee than any of the major (non"gourmet") brands and a pot of coffee kept hot is still pretty good after a couple of hours. I went back and bought three bags. This week I am going after 10 more. I suspect it is a mix involving a heavy ratio of Vietnamese coffee. That is the cheap version of Ethiopian highlands coffee which is strictly "gourmet" and oh so pricey. Like the Ethiopian it has very little acid and therefore keeps hot for an extended period.

The stuff is called "Java Time" and claims to be 100% Arabica. The Vietnamese "overproduced" the supposedly lesser quality Robusta beans and crashed the price of coffee a few years ago and the world coffee cartel dumped on VN and induced them to switch to the pricier and less productive Arabica beans. Viet Nam is producing so much Arabica that the price of that is, of course, coming down. With the right soil and altitude the Robusta is every bit as good as the Arabica and cheaper to produce. But if the growing conditions are right a country can and will "overproduce" the Arabica, too.