Top Product Ratings:  Washing Machines  |  Vacuum Cleaners  |  Refrigerators  |  Dishwashers  |  Clothes Dryers  |  Ranges  |  Microwave Ovens
| More
Say it ain’t so, Joe: Starbucks raises packaged-coffee prices
May 27, 2011 1:25 PM

Starbucks is raising prices on packaged coffee it sells in its retail stores by 17 percent, according to a Reuters report. The move, though, should come as no surprise. Amid a recent rise in Arabica-coffee futures, the company raised prices on brewed coffee late last year, and this past March hiked prices for the packaged coffee it sells in grocery stores by 12 percent.

Starbucks’s move is only the latest of an industry-wide trend. This month Kraft has raised some prices of Maxwell House and Yuban coffees. J.M. Smucker has increased most prices for Millstone, Dunkin' Donuts, Folgers and Folgers Gourmet Selections. Both hikes, while only about four percent, followed earlier hikes of about 10 percent.

Looking for a less-expensive brand that still packs the wallop you need in the morning? You might not have much luck, considering that prices seem to be rising across the board. Still, consider how much you’re saving by brewing your own coffee, and compare prices for different brands in our coffee Ratings. We’ll be posting new Ratings for Colombian coffees very soon, but here are some others:

Blends. Starbucks House Blend scored highest overall of our Ratings of coffee blends. We found the best of these good, though generally not very complex. For both the House Blend and the Decaf House Blend, you might not notice defects if you drink your coffee with cream and sugar or other embellishments.

Sumatran. Among our Ratings of Sumatran coffees, we found the Starbucks Sumatra had less complexity and more negatives—again, defects you might not notice depending on what you stir in. But another Starbucks brand, Seattle’s Best Coffee Organic Sumatra, fared better with our coffee experts: “a fairly complex flavor with some brightness.”

Kenyan. And among Kenyan coffees, our Ratings ranked Starbucks Kenya well though that coffee was part of the group we described as “generally not as bright with a less complex flavor and/or more negatives.” More negatives? Sounds like how some of us would describe the prices.

—Ed Perratore

Post a comment

Comments:

0
Expand All
Collapse All

Nobody Tests Like We Do

Our testers put 100s of products through their paces at our National Testing and Research Center. Learn more about how we test for:

  • Performance
  • Safety
  • Reliability