Finding Coffee in Chaos: Strategies for Roasters as US Tariffs Sink In

Daily Coffee News – October 2025

Key points :

• palpable anxiety among U.S.-based roasters and traders grappling with green coffee prices and sourcing challenges
• tariffs have added both costs and volatility to a green coffee market that has hovered at historically high levels for the better part of a year.
• US coffee traders and roasters see chaos when describing current green coffee sourcing conditions.
• Focus on ‘adapt and improvise, but don’t compromise’ –   how to deliver the same quality while being creative with how to source beans
• import taxes paid by importing companies are now fully making their way into the domestic green coffee market, impacting roasters.
• US importers agree they cannot absorb tariffs which apply to nearly all major coffee-producing countries — over the long-term, given that traders typically operate on razor-thin margins of pennies per pound while functioning at larger-volume scales.