Americans change their breakfast habits because coffee prices skyrocket

Coffee has been Chandra Donelson’s morning habit since he was old enough to drink it. For many years, she stopped by McDonald’s every day to buy a cup of coffee according to the recipe of 10 spoons of sugar and 5 parts cream. Later, she switched to the almond milk caramel macchiato with two scoops of syrup at Starbucks.

But coffee prices have escalated to the point that the 35-year-old woman living in Washington DC had to decide to give up buying this drink. “I did it every day for many years. I really liked it. It was simply a habit and now it’s gone,” she said.

The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) published last week showed that coffee prices in the US in January increased by 18.3% over the same period in 2025 and increased by 47% in the past 5 years, enough to make some consumers make not “unusual” decisions.

Theo APafter many years of continuously increasing coffee prices, many American consumers have had to change their drinking habits such as skipping coffee shops, switching to cheaper coffee drinks or even quitting altogether. “Before, I thought it was impossible to live through the day without coffee. Now I no longer default to the coffee shop,” said Liz Sweeney, 50 years old, in Boise (Idaho), who once described herself as a “coffee addict.”

Liz Sweeney used to drink 3 cups of coffee a day at home and stop by the shop whenever she went out. But when prices rose sharply last year, she stopped going to the shop and reduced to drinking one cup a day at home. To compensate for caffeine, she drinks a can of Diet Coke at home or buys it at McDonald’s.

Dan DeBaun, 34 years old, from Minnetonka (Minnesota), also stopped coming to the restaurant when he noticed prices rising while the couple was saving money to buy a house. “A cup of coffee used to be $2, now it’s $5-6,” DeBaun said. Now he buys ground coffee at Trader Joe’s and pours it into a thermos and takes it to the office.

Data from Toast – a payment platform used by more than 150,000 restaurants in the US – shows that the average price of a regular cup of hot coffee in the US increased to $3.61 in December, while cold brew coffee was $5.55.

Almost all coffee consumed in the US is imported. Tariffs had affected some shipments in 2025 but were later removed. Climate problems such as dry heat in Vietnam and Brazil and heavy rain in Indonesia are said to reduce production and push up global coffee prices.

According to the National Coffee Association, two-thirds of Americans drink coffee every day. For many people, coffee is an indispensable part of their daily routine, so prices have skyrocketed, leading to complaints.

The association said surveys showed that coffee consumption remained generally stable despite rising prices. However, many people are changing their habits because their wallets are under pressure from other living expenses that are also increasing, from beef to rent.

Sharon Cooksey, 55, of Greensboro (North Carolina) used to stop by Starbucks almost every morning to order caramel latte and cut back last year. First, she switched to making her own Starbucks at home. Then, she discovered Lavazza coffee was about 40% cheaper and switched to this type.

She also noticed that the price of coffee brewed at home has increased but not significantly compared to going to a shop. A bag of seeds that lasts for weeks costs about the same as a latte at the store. Cooksey remembers the social atmosphere at the restaurant, where staff called her by name. But she was surprised to realize that she actually preferred the taste of homemade coffee. “I didn’t expect it to be so delicious,” she said.

For Chandra Donelson, she inherited her morning coffee habit from her mother, who also went to McDonald’s every day to order a cup of coffee according to the recipe of 10 spoons of sugar and 5 parts of cream that she learned. Last fall, her salary for her data strategy and AI job in the administration was disrupted because of the government shutdown, forcing Donelson to cut spending.

To replace store-bought coffee, she switched to a tea from The Republic of Tea with just the right amount of honey. “20 cents a cup compared to $7-8 a cup. It’s a simple calculation,” she said.