Americans’ new coffee cost – tariff calculation leads to skipping trips to Starbucks, McDonald’s and Dunkin’

For a number of years, it was a daily trip to McDonald’s for a cup of coffee with ten sugars and five creams. Later on, it became caramel macchiatos with almond milk and two pumps of syrup.

Coffee has been a morning routine for Chandra Donelson since she was old enough to drink it. However, being disappointed by the rising prices, the 35 – year – old from Washington, D.C., did something unthinkable: She quit it.

“I did that every day for years. I loved it. That was just my normal routine,” she says. “And now it isn’t anymore.”

Years of continuously rising coffee prices have made some people in this country of coffee lovers change their habits by stopping café visits, switching to cheaper coffee brews, or giving it up completely.

According to the latest [information], coffee prices in the U.S. were up 18.3% in January compared to the previous year. The government reported that over five years, coffee prices increased by 47%.

That remarkable increase has made some people take extraordinary actions.

“Before, I thought, ‘There’s no way I could get through my day without coffee,’” says Liz Sweeney, 50, from Boise, Idaho, a former “coffee addict” who has reduced her coffee consumption. “Now my car doesn’t drive automatically to the coffee place.”

Sweeney used to have three cups of coffee at home every day and stop at a café whenever she left the house. But as the prices went up last year, she stopped going to coffee shops and cut her intake to one cup a day at home. To make up for the caffeine, she opens a can of Diet Coke at home or drives through McDonald’s to get one.

Dan DeBaun, 34, from Minnetonka, Minnesota, has also reduced his coffee shop visits, being aware of the increasing cost as he and his wife are saving up for a house.

“What used to be a $2 coffee, it’s now $5, $6,” says DeBaun, who now buys ground coffee at Trader Joe’s and fills a travel mug to take to the office.

Data from [platform name], a payment platform used by more than 150,000 restaurants, found that the median price of a regular hot coffee in the U.S. had reached $3.61 in December, with a wide difference depending on the location. The median price of cold brews was $5.55.

Virtually all the coffee consumed in the U.S. is imported. Although tariffs affected some coffee imports in 2025, [more details]. Climate problems — drought in Vietnam, heavy rain in Indonesia, and hot, dry weather in Brazil — [affected] crops and pushed up global prices.

According to the National Coffee Association, two – thirds of Americans drink coffee every day. For many, it is such an essential part of their routine that the soaring price has only led to complaints.

The coffee association says its surveys show that coffee consumption is generally staying stable despite the price increases. But, being pressured by the cost of everything from rent to beef, others are changing their habits.

Sharon Cooksey, 55, from Greensboro, North Carolina, used to visit her local Starbucks most weekday mornings for a caramel latte until she cut back last year. First, she started brewing Starbucks coffee at home. Then, she found that Lavazza coffee was about 40% cheaper and switched to it.

“I can buy a bag of coffee for $6?” she said to herself. “It was like I had just discovered a new world. The coffee aisle in [store name] opened up a whole new universe to me.”

She has also noticed that the cost of her home – brewed coffee is going up, but it’s nothing compared to her café – going habit. A bag of beans that lasts for weeks costs her about the same as one latte.

Cooksey misses the social part of going to the café, where the baristas greeted her by name. But she’s been surprised to find that she actually likes the taste of her homemade coffee better.

“I’m really surprised that it tastes so good,” she says.

As she was growing up, Donelson watched enviously as her mother made a daily coffee trip (also to McDonald’s, also with ten sugars and five creams), and she copied the habit. She went from college to the Air Force to a government job as a data and artificial intelligence strategist, but throughout all that, coffee was always there.

She noticed the increasing cost of her routine, but kept it up until a government shutdown stopped her paychecks last fall and she needed to cut down on her spending. Looking for a morning alternative, she chose a Republic of Tea blend with a generous amount of honey.

“Twenty cents a cup compared to $7 or $8 a cup,” she says. “The math just makes sense.”