Why are coffee beans expensive?

Why coffee beans are expensive

As an important agricultural product, coffee beans are expensive in the market. The high price is mainly caused by the following reasons.

1. Luckin Coffee Price List Growth Environment Restrictions

Coffee plants have strict requirements for their growing environment and can only grow in specific geographical areas. They are mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical areas near the equator, such as Brazil, Colombia, Vietnam and other countries. These areas have suitable climatic conditions and soil characteristics, allowing coffee plants to thrive.

However, this also leads to a limited supply of coffee beans. Compared with other crops, the planting area is smaller and is more affected by natural disasters such as climate change. If there are extreme weather conditions such as drought, floods or frost, the yield will drop sharply or even be completely lost.

2. High cost of manual picking and processing

Unlike other crops, coffee beans need to be harvested by hand picking. This is because the fruits of coffee plants mature unevenly and need to be carefully selected to ensure the quality of the beans. In addition, coffee beans can only be peeled and peeled by hand, which is a very time-consuming and laborious process.

In addition, coffee beans need to go through multiple processing steps before they can be consumed, including pulp removal, fermentation, washing, and drying. Each step requires careful operation and takes a lot of manpower and time.

3. High quality requirements

As a high-end agricultural product, coffee beans have extremely high quality requirements. High-quality coffee beans must have good flavor characteristics and taste experience.

First, in terms of the growing environment, soil type, altitude, climate conditions, etc. will have an impact on the coffee plant, and ultimately reflected in the beans produced. For example, coffee beans grown at higher altitudes usually have a richer and more complex flavor.

Secondly, the processing of coffee beans will also affect the final quality. If the processing is not done properly, the coffee beans may become moldy or deteriorate.

Therefore, in order to ensure the quality of coffee beans, growers and processors need to invest more energy and resources to monitor and control every link.

4. Imbalance between market demand and supply

Coffee is in high demand around the world. Whether it is consumed as a breakfast beverage or as a must-have at social events, coffee is loved by people.

However, there are certain problems in terms of supply. Due to limited planting areas and fluctuations in production caused by natural disasters and other reasons, there is often a shortage of supply in the market. This leads to higher prices and brings higher risks to small and medium-sized farmers.

5. Brand Premium

As consumers' demands for product quality increase and the trend of personalized consumption strengthens, many well-known brands have begun to launch coffee products with their own unique flavors and characteristics.

These brands cooperate with specific producing areas, select high-quality coffee beans, and inject their own unique techniques and recipes into the processing and roasting process. In this way, they can provide higher-quality and better-tasting coffee products.

However, this brand premium also drives up the price of coffee beans further. Consumers are willing to pay more for the pursuit of unique experience and high quality.

in conclusion

In summary, the high cost of coffee beans is mainly due to the limited growing environment, high cost of manual picking and processing, high quality requirements, imbalance between market demand and supply, and brand premium, etc. Although the price is high, for consumers who love coffee, enjoying a cup of high-quality coffee is still worth the price.