Specialty roasters hit by 50% Brazil tariff

Perfect Daily Grind reported on May 19 that smaller U.S. specialty coffee roasters remained exposed to high input costs after a year of price volatility and tariffs, including a 50% U.S. levy on Brazil. The publication said the added costs had made it harder for roasters to hold margins while keeping café prices stable. Ian Goodman, co-owner of Goodman Coffee Roasters in Chattanooga, Tennessee, told the outlet green coffee costs were “exponentially more” than two years earlier. ### Where is the pressure on roasters coming from? February 2025 was a key turning point in the coffee market, with arabica futures reaching a record $4.41 per pound, according to Perfect Daily Grind. The publication said weather problems in major producing countries and tight inventories drove that spike, leaving roasters to absorb higher raw-bean costs even after futures later eased. (perfectdailygrind.com) Ian Goodman told Perfect Daily Grind that wholesale prices “come back slower” than green coffee costs, a mismatch that hits smaller roasters first because they have less room to hedge, store inventory or delay price increases. Perfect Daily Grind said those smaller operators were particularly vulnerable to rapid swings in coffee prices. (perfectdailygrind.com) ### Why does Brazil matter so much to a U.S. coffee buyer? Brazil is the world’s largest coffee producer, and Perfect Daily Grind identified it as the origin hit by the steepest tariff cited in its May 19 analysis. Reuters reported in July 2025 that traders were rushing Brazilian coffee into the United States before a new 50% tariff on Brazilian products was due to be implemented on August 1. CNBC, citing U.S. Department of Agriculture data, reported Brazil accounts for about a third of U.S. green coffee supply. (perfectdailygrind.com) August 2025 coverage from Bloomberg said American buyers were avoiding fresh deals with Brazil after the tariff took effect, while Brazil’s exporter group Cecafé said some U.S. buyers were seeking longer shipping timelines in hopes the levy would be eased. That left roasters looking to other origins, where replacement coffee was limited and often more expensive. (perfectdailygrind.com) ### Didn’t the U.S. tariff picture change after April 2025? April 2025 brought an initial round of broad U.S. “reciprocal tariffs,” and Fresh Cup reported that Brazil at first appeared to face a 10% baseline tariff under that structure. That matters because it shows the 50% Brazil coffee story developed later than the first April tariff headlines that hit the coffee trade. (bloomberg.com) July 2025 was when Reuters and other outlets reported the specific 50% tariff on Brazilian products that coffee traders were scrambling to avoid before the August 1 implementation date. By December 2025, Fresh Cup reported that green coffee had largely been exempted from tariffs in most cases, but the earlier disruption had already pushed through supply chains and retail prices. (freshcup.com) ### Why are café prices still sticky if futures cooled? December 2025 data cited by Perfect Daily Grind showed the International Coffee Organisation’s composite indicator price averaged 304.68 U.S. cents per pound, down 7.8% from November. Even so, the publication said prices remained above the five-year average, which kept pressure on roasters and traders. (usnews.com) Retail and wholesale pricing also move more slowly than commodity markets. Perfect Daily Grind said roasters were still working through higher-cost inventory and disrupted supply chains into 2026, while Goodman said he was buying fewer “fun and exciting coffees” and focusing more on coffees that could move through wholesale channels. (perfectdailygrind.com) ### What is still unresolved now? January 23, 2026 reporting from Reuters said Brazil’s instant coffee industry was still seeking details on why it continued to face a 50% U.S. tariff even after import charges had been lifted on most South American goods. That suggests parts of the tariff issue were still not fully settled months after the broader coffee market had started to normalize. (perfectdailygrind.com) May 19, 2026 is the latest dated milestone in this story, with Perfect Daily Grind’s analysis tying those trade disruptions to the cost pressures still facing specialty roasters. January 23, 2026 is the clearest next marker in the policy timeline, because Reuters reported Brazil’s instant coffee sector was still pressing for clarity on the remaining 50% U.S. levy. (perfectdailygrind.com) (finance.yahoo.com)