Coffee lovers to cough up more for a cuppa

Brisbanites may soon have to stump up an extra 25 cents for their daily coffee fix. Coffee suppliers say they have been battling rising costs for a number of months - and it appears consumers will have to foot the bill. Brisbane's Merlo Coffee told brisbanetimes.com.au it had been holding off on increasing prices, but financial pressure had finally forced their hand."We've seen prices of our coffee beans steadily increasing for the past 18 months," a Merlo spokesperson said.

Costs have also skyrocketed for sugar, cocoa and milk powder, as well as shipping and packaging, suppliers say. Merlo is expected to raise the cost of an average coffee by 25 cents soon. Over the last two weeks, the price of `dry' coffee has gone up about $1 per 1 kilogram bag.

"Coffee bean prices have been going up for a while," co-owner of supplier Di Bella Coffee, Gianna Di Bella, said. She said the global price spikes had put pressure on several cafes, with those who source multi-national brands facing the most difficulty.

Ms Di Bella expected coffee prices would steadily increase over the next five years. Campos co-owner John Ronchi said they relied on variable international prices, rather than a fixed rate. Prices are set to increase even further as of July 1, with the introduction of wage increases for hospitality workers.

As part of the changes, many cafes will have to pay their casual staff penalties of 20 per cent extra on Saturdays and 50 per cent on Sundays. "To cope, the cafe owner will have to pay the staff with the increased coffee price," Ms Di Bella said.