It was only a matter of time before Canada’s coffee chains began adjusting prices.

Tim Hortons was first out of the gate, announcing a price hike of roughly three cents per cup on average — a modest but symbolically significant increase. In an increasingly cashless economy, where digital payments obscure price sensitivity, such adjustments are less likely to trigger consumer backlash. Still, this marks a new chapter in the economics of coffee, where perception and psychology play as much a role as the price of beans.

Despite common belief, the cost of coffee beans represents less than 10% of what consumers pay for a cup at their local café. The remainder is absorbed by labour, rent, equipment, and energy — costs that have risen sharply in recent years. This means that even if global coffee bean prices were to stabilize, the price of your daily latte likely would not.

Globally, coffee futures are trading about 50% higher than the five-year average, driven by........

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