Name: Portland coffee roasters and cafés still struggling after tariffs lifted
Uploaded: 2025-12-02T01:52:11.728Z
Duration: 2 min 53 s
Description: In Portland, Oregon, the lingering effects of coffee tariffs are impacting small businesses. Mark Strassmann reports.

In Portland, Oregon, the lingering effects of coffee tariffs are impacting small businesses. Mark Strassmann reports.

Portland

Coffee prices in Portland, Oregon, have reached historic highs, largely due to tariffs imposed by the U.S. government on coffee imports. Local business owners, including café operators and roasters, report significant financial challenges, with some forced to lay off staff and operate with reduced capacity.

Although the U.S. recently lifted these tariffs, the effects will not be immediate. Coffee businesses typically order beans months in advance, meaning that untariffed coffee will not arrive until February, prolonging the financial difficulties for many in the industry.

Portland coffee roasters and cafés still struggling after tariffs lifted

In Ion America, we look at issues facing the nation, and at the top of the list for many is affordability. On the positive side, a glut of crude has sent gasoline falling to an average $3 a gallon for the first time in four years. But coffee is going the other way, and as Mark Strassman reports, the reason is tariffs. You get some ice in here. You got the ice drink, right? As one of America's coffee capitals, Portland, Oregon, has grounds for worry. Coffee prices have soared to historic highs. We have bags of coffee that are $28.50. That's a lot of money for a bag of coffee. We met Leila Gambari at Gilder Coffee Company, her specialty coffee cafe. She and her brothers practically grew up inside an espresso machine. Her father owned a coffee shop. Gambari became the 2014 U.S. barista champion. Now she's a small business owner grappling with another coffee expense, tariffs. Any coffee that's already landed in the United States is still subject to the tariff. So this is a tariff cup of coffee? That's a tariff cup of coffee. Coffee beans were already high, thanks to supply and demand pressures for premium beans, and climate issues, especially crop-killing frost. Back in April, the U.S. jolted coffee-producing countries by adding a reciprocal tariff of 10 percent. Gambari says that costs her roughly 50 cents a bag. Have you made espresso before? Nope. At the University of Oregon, Christopher Hendon's a chemistry professor with a nickname, Dr. Coffee. Hendon says these tariffs cost independent coffee operators. To the end user, the coffee drinker, not feeling it. You probably are not feeling it. You might not care today because the price didn't change all that much, but you might care if your local cafe disappears. Or your coffee roaster. Charlie Wicker's company, Trailhead Coffee, roasts green beans into brown ones. Tariffs hit him hard. I had to lay off the two full-time employees. So now it's down to just myself and one part-time employee. Was it a real gut punch? No, the fact that we're still standing is a function of having a little bit of savings to keep the lights on. That's good news for America's coffee community. A few weeks ago, the U.S. reversed itself, lifting those tariffs. But relief will take time. Coffee roasters and cafes typically order beans months in advance. The new coffees that land in our warehouse in February would be un-tariffed. But not until February? Not until February. For Charlie Wicker, delivering to cafes, lifting those tariffs could be the coffee break he needs. For I Am America, I'm Mark Strassman in Portland, Oregon.

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