00:00First, the fuel in our cars, and now the fuel in our cups?
00:03Nothing is sacred in this economy.
00:05You might have noticed the price of your morning cup of joe climbing lately.
00:09And if you did, you're not alone.
00:10Coffee prices have surged more than just about any other household item,
00:15doubling in the last year.
00:16And it's not just because of tariffs.
00:19Yes, that is part of it.
00:20But the Wall Street Journal took a deeper dive into how we got here based on one roaster in Kansas.
00:26Tariffs went from zero in 2024 to 15 cents a pound in 2025.
00:30But a much bigger cost were the beans themselves.
00:33And that has to do with the weather.
00:34Droughts in huge coffee growing areas of Brazil and Vietnam sent prices soaring.
00:39Now, coffee is traded as a commodity on global markets, just the same as oil is.
00:44So you can also blame Wall Street.
00:47Hedge funds saw the volatility in coffee prices as a bet that could make them money.
00:51And when they make money, well, you and I end up being the ones giving it to them one way
00:56or another.
00:57Last November, President Trump eased some of the tariffs and hedge funds dropped their coffee investment.
01:02Prices came down a little bit, but it was a small dip and short-lived, like the caffeine high from
01:08an espresso.
01:09Prices are now surging again, not because of a drought this time,
01:12but because fuel and freight costs have jumped due to surging oil prices and the closure of the Strait of
01:17Hormuz.
01:17So now it's rinse and repeat.
01:19Hedge funds are piling into the coffee trade again.
01:21So your cold brew or your latte is also, once again, putting a bigger dent into your wallet.
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