On April 9th, the Federal Government has delayed implementation of tariffs on many target countries for 90 days (reference.) All of the countries from whom we import coffee are included in this group, so the tariff fee has been removed (as promised in the original post.) We will revisit in July 2025 as needed.
Brian
--Original post April 2 2025--
Back in December, I flagged the possibility of new tariffs affecting our coffee prices (read that post here).
On April 2, the federal government has made it official. New tariffs have been imposed globally and without exclusions for products that are not grown domestically, like coffee. This has an immediate impact on our cost of goods.
Imported green coffee just got more expensive due to this tax. And since about 40% of the price you pay is tied directly to the cost of the green coffee itself, these tariffs ripple through the system.
Here’s what we’re doing about it:
We are adding a “Tariff Fee” at checkout, rather than raising our coffee prices.
This fee is calculated based on the tariff applied to the country your coffee originates from. For every 10% tariff, expect a fee of 4.1%. So if a specific origin is hit with a 20% tariff, the added fee at checkout will be 8.2%.
We’re doing it this way for two reasons:
-
Transparency.
We want you to see the cost of these tariffs. When prices are raised quietly across the board, it’s easy for that to get buried. We don’t think that’s honest—or helpful. -
Flexibility.
If and when the tariff is removed, the fee disappears too. It doesn’t stick around as a permanent part of our pricing structure, and we’re not going to quietly pocket the difference down the road.
Our commitment remains the same: source great coffees, roast them well, and deliver them at a fair price. These tariff fees won’t make anyone happy, but this is the clearest and fairest way we know to deal with it.
The tariffs announced today are as follows:
| Country | Tariff | Tariff Fee At Checkout |
| Brazil | 10% | 4.1% |
| Colombia | 10% | 4.1% |
| Costa Rica | 10% | 4.1% |
| Ethiopia | 10% | 4.1% |
| Guatemala | 10% | 4.1% |
| Indonesia (Bali, Sumatra) | 32% | 13.1% |
| Kenya | 10% | 4.1% |
| Mexico | 25% | 10.3% |
| Tanzania | 10% | 4.1% |
| All Other | 10% | 4.1% |
If you have questions, just reach out. I’ll tell you exactly what country your coffee came from and what tariff rate is being applied. No secrets here.
—Brian
Owner & Roaster, Libertyville Coffee Co.
