How global tariffs could affect your daily Fort Worth coffee run
Coffee prices are higher than ever — and that was before President Donald Trump’s 10% base global tariff went into effect.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, an average cup of coffee cost $7.20 in February 2025. This is almost double the price during Covid in September 2020, when the average was $4.40.
Trump last week paused his sweeping reciprocal tariffs for 90 days (except on China), but kept a 10% base global tariff in place. Major coffee-producing countries like Brazil (10%), Vietnam (46%) and Indonesia (32%) will get some relief for at least 90 days, but that 10% tariff could increase the price of your daily cup of joe.
Here’s what two local coffee shops had to say.
Are Fort Worth coffee shops concerned about the tariffs?
Justin Morrissette, store manager for Avoca Coffee Roasters on Foch Street, said that Brazil supplies a third of the world’s coffee — 38 percent, to be exact.
Brazil is also facing extreme heat and drought, which has immensely impacted coffee harvests. This is part of why the staple beverage has become a high-demand item.
It’s hard to say exactly how much a cup of coffee may go up in price once tariffs are in place.
Avoca’s shop located on 835 Foch Street is a part of a strip mall of what Morissette calls “complimentary businesses.” A good bit of their customers come from surrounding businesses, like yoga studios, workspace offices and art studios. If neighboring businesses feel the weight of tariffs, so will Avoca, and vice-versa.
Another local coffeehouse owner, Ampersand’s Toan Luong, feels very fortunate that he had Covid as practice for managing a business in adverse situations. He feels that if Ampersand can survive a difficult time like the pandemic, it is well-equipped enough to handle these tariffs.
Luong said he is not as worried about the tariffs on coffee beans. He’s more worried about imports of plastic cups, lids, coffee bags and boxes from China.
Both Luong and Morrissette said they couldn’t say if they would add a tariff surcharge for customers because they aren’t sure what effects the tariffs would have.
On the plus side, Luong is confident in keeping steady prices because Ampersand has other cost advantages. Thanks to its new, 24/7 coffee robot that just launched in Terminal C of the DFW International Airport, Ampersand can serve coffee to customers at any hour of the day, and any holiday.
“For us, we’re in a hard position, because we have to find that sweet spot where it needs to be convenient and affordable, but at the same time, where we’re not bleeding for every cup,” Luong said. “But all in all, Fort Worth as a whole community, and, more importantly, all our guests, have been so supportive, and we couldn’t have had a better group to not only frequent our businesses, but support us along the way.”