Small World Coffee raises prices in response to supply shortage

The cost of coffee at Small World Coffee, a Princeton staple, has risen in response to supply shortages in the coffee market, an Instagram post on Feb. 23 said.

“Coffee prices have soared over the last year and are not slated to come down anytime soon,” the post read.

Some items, like drip coffee, single-shot espressos, and single-shot americanos, have risen by $0.25, while others, like the single cappuccino, the single latte, and flat white have risen by $0.50. The forte cappuccino has risen by $0.70, and mocha prices have risen by $1.00.

“I used to come a lot. I would be here every morning,” Megan Santamore ’25 told The Daily Princetonian in an interview. “But now a little less so because I have an espresso machine, and prices have gone up, so I can’t do that.”

Mariana Altomare ’25 told the ‘Prince’ that she views Small World Coffee as “definitely more of a treat.”

Small World allows students to buy coffee with their Paw Points, provided to each undergraduate student on the unlimited meal plan by the University.

Lucy McWeeny ’28 said, “I am consistently aware of how expensive the coffee is. When I go and get these cold foam cold brews, it’s like $7.50, which is a lot of money, so I use Paw Points, which is fantastic. But once I’m out of those, it’s gonna be devastating. And they’re going quite quickly because the coffee is just quite expensive.”

Cate Barry ’27, a frequent Small World consumer, shared, “I just use my points. I don’t care.”

In a statement to the ‘Prince,’ Jessica Durrie, co-founder and owner of Small World, shared how the shop will be adapting. She explained that the price changes stemmed from a mismatch between supply and demand on the coffee market, which she attributed to reduced production of coffee beans in Vietnam and Brazil as a result of a significant drought and frost.

“In addition to supply being low, demand has also risen internationally with countries that are traditionally tea drinkers consuming more coffee,” Durrie wrote. “The other significant factor at play here is market speculation with traders driving prices up for financial gain.”

According to the Data Blog of the World Bank Group, the prices of Arabica and Robusta, the two primary coffee beans in the C-Market, rose by 69 and 60 percentage points, respectively, from Jan. 1 to Dec. 1 of 2024. Additionally, in February of this year, prices per pound of coffee beans reached daily highs of $4.24 per day, reaching $4.40 in one day, the highest they have been in 48 years.

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“Whether this was an isolated incident or the canary in the coal mine for the effects climate change is having on the global coffee supply is yet to be seen,” Durrie wrote.

McWeeny, also a barista for Princeton Coffee Club, shared that the campus Coffee Clubs haven’t been affected.

“Small World seems to be having some issues with coffee sourcing, which is why they’ve had to raise the prices,” McWeeny said. At Coffee Club, she added, “But that doesn’t seem to be affecting Coffee Clubs, so we’ve been able to keep the prices pretty stable.”

In attempts to restrict the increases in price, Small World will be relying more on local partners and minimizing waste in their coffee-making process.

“This is a time to expand connections and build friendships in the industry. It is also a time to connect with other coffee roasters and share resources,” Durrie wrote. “One of our first employees started a very successful coffeehouse and roasting company in Oakland, CA, and he and I have been in constant contact.”

Additionally, the company will be launching an internal initiative, the Full Cup Project, which will analyze ways to maximize the use of the coffee. The shop will also be looking into purchasing new coffee grinders to help reduce the amount of waste.

Durrie shared that part of the struggle also comes from being a small coffee shop.

“We are … trying our best to buy our lots of coffee at times when the market is not crazy high,” Durrie stated. “We are too small of a company to use financial mechanisms to hedge against the market.”

Small World’s concerns accompany global worries over the state of the international coffee market. Durrie specifically cited how the end of USAID is putting the $5 million Coffee Improvement Plan, intended to address problems in coffee production and farming, in jeopardy.

Ultimately, Durrie wrote, “the major effect of all of this is that prices are going up and more than they’ve ever increased before, certainly more than Small World has seen in its 31 years of business.”

Small World will continue to address these concerns as they put their measures in place to reduce price inflation and maximize their coffee sourcing.

“Coffeehouses have always been a vital part of any community, and we will continue to ensure [Small World] keeps providing just that to Princeton,” Durrie wrote.

Luke Grippo is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’ He is from South Jersey and usually covers administrative issues, including USG, the CPUC, and institutional legacy.

Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.