View Single Post
Old 09-22-2006, 04:20 PM   #4
rhertz
SBLive! Veteran
 
rhertz's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 2,834
Rep Power: 293 rhertz has a brilliant future rhertz has a brilliant future rhertz has a brilliant future rhertz has a brilliant future rhertz has a brilliant future rhertz has a brilliant future rhertz has a brilliant future rhertz has a brilliant future rhertz has a brilliant future rhertz has a brilliant future rhertz has a brilliant future
Quote:
Originally Posted by joepole
>it takes a lot of energy to brew a cup of coffee!
It sure does.
Well you make some good points worth discussing.


Quote:
Originally Posted by joepole
First you have to use gallons of diesel to plow and plant the fields, then lots of gasoline or electricity to pump the water to irrigate and tend the fields, then more diesel to run the haresters
True, but these costs are already built into the price of harvested "green beans" already. And the wholesale bean price hasn't gone up much recently. But if it did, then *$ should just say "bean prices went up" which I would have no problem with. But blaming it on oil, I don't buy it. I just paid $2.18 for a gallon of gas, down from $3 not to long ago.


Quote:
Originally Posted by joepole
then electricity to process the beans, then some fuel (gas, electricity, wood, whatever) to roast the prepared beans, then diesel to haul them to the distributor, who has to use electricity to run his warehouse, then more diesel to ship the beans to the climate-controlled store where workers use electricity to brew the coffee.

That is, assuming the beans are gornw locally. If not, you have to use diesel to ship them across an ocean on a ship that uses anywhere from 400,000 to 2,000,000 gallons depending on the size of the ship and the route it takes.
All true. But I guess if this is their excuse, then they will lower the price back down next week since the cost of fuel as just dropped back down to old historic levels. But they won't because fuel prices aren't really the big problem. A cup of coffee costs about 30 cents for the cup and contents inside (coffee, milk, etc.) but they sell it for $3. The other $2.70 goes to pay for labor, building, equipment, accounting, insurance, marketing, and press releases. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a hard business even with good gross profit margins. However, maybe they wanted to make an extra nickle because the demand of over roasted coffee might be declining, lol. (ducking) And they know how to spin it like the rest of the fortune world.
rhertz is offline   Reply With Quote