Not long ago, $7 was the price of a hearty lunch. Now it's the price of a cup of coffee. Not just any coffee, but a Grande-sized cup of Starbucks' new Costa Rica Finca Palmilera. The rare beans are part of the chain's "reserve" line and the most expensive black coffee served up in Starbucks' history. (A typical Starbucks latte costs around $4)
Here we stand on a fiscal cliff, drinking $7 coffees. Is there any way to explain it?
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"[The] price is based on rarity, demand, and green coffee prices," a Starbucks spokesperson told Yahoo! Shine. "This coffee is not widely available, so, like an opportunity to try a wine where there is limited production, demand is high."
For coffee snobs the price point can be justified with one word: Geisha.
Geisha is a rare varietal of coffee beans, grown in parts of Central America, coveted for its delicate fruity aroma. Because only a small amount of farms produce the red-berry-colored beans—which were native to Ethiopia before importation to Costa Rica in 1953—distributors are able to jack up the price.
Currently, a half-pound bag of Starbuck's Finca Palmilera beans is selling for $40. Make that selling out. Online customers bought out the bags in the first 24 hours. Starbucks' $40 bag is actually a bargain compared to other Geisha-coffee products, which retail for up to $60 per half pound.