Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide

The wait for the 2025 Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide is over!

Released this week, the 2025 edition summarizes almost 139,000 contracts (provided by a network of 'Data Donors') covering more than 2.5 billion pounds of green specialty coffee.

Available to download in both English and Spanish, the Transaction Guide is a useful tool for both sellers and buyers of differentiated green coffees who want to see increased equity and economic sustainability within specialty coffee markets.

Learn more and download Transaction Guide at https://www.transactionguide.coffee/data

Thank you to our amazing data donors for making this possible!

Thanks to the presenters and participants who made the Sensible Coffee Pricing Salon IV a huge success!

We agree with many of the (regular) Salon participants when they say that these are among the most optimistic and impactful gatherings at and Specialty Coffee Association EXPO.

Please keep an eye on this space for more details about what we talked about in Geneva.

For anyone interested…

(yes, including those at Specialty Coffee Association ).

The June 2025 to drop in coming days.

A research paper featuring Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide data was accepted for publication in World Development (a leading Development journal). In this paper, Karl Wienhold and Peter Roberts ask, ‘How is value distributed along specialty coffee value chains?’ They examine retail and green coffee price data and find that the upgrading by producers who grow coffees for differentiated specialty markets is mainly (but variably) appropriated by downstream actors. Their observations illuminate a pricing landscape that calls for new ways of thinking about value distribution along global value chains that end with differentiated consumer products.

Follow the link in our bio to download and read the paper!

Of elephants and rooms! When farmers don’t have access to market information, they’re negotiating in the dark. Thus, understanding the variables that influence pricing outcomes isn’t just helpful—it’s critical. But, when we avoid talking about access to relevant price information, we’re not overlooking a minor variable—we’re ignoring a major one.

On June 6th, researchers from Colombia and around the world convened virtually for the annual Coffee Sustainability & Equity Research Summit. Hosted by Orlando Rodríguez García (Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira), Robinson Garcés Marín (Universidad de Antioquia & Emory University), Juliana Jaramillo (Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira), and Peter W. Roberts (Emory University), the Summit featured presentations and project workshops highlighting sustainability, equity, and innovation across the coffee value chain. This annual gathering continues to foster collaboration and shared learning—and we look forward to future in-person sessions in Colombia.

Click the link in our bio for all the details!

WHAT A GREAT IDEA! Every year since 1976, the California Department of Food and Agriculture has released its annual California Grape Crush Report. Based on the most recent grape harvest, it shows weighted average prices actually paid for winegrapes grown in California – by variety and by region.

The folks at Daily Coffee News recently reported that the C Price is being phased out. Coffee futures contracts – tradeable in larger lot sizes – will be priced per metric ton instead of per pound. This change will require some recalibration. Some say it might reshape how commodity coffee pricing is communicated. If navigating this “same market, new units” becomes too difficult, green coffee sellers and buyers can always use the Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide as a sensible alternative for price discovery.

Don't miss June's episode of Bean to Cup, featuring our very own Peter Roberts!

📈 Big movement at the low end of the market. In March 2025, data from the Specialty Coffee Retail Price Index (SCRPI) showed the largest quarterly price increase since the index began in 2014. Retail prices for the lowest-priced coffees in North American specialty markets jumped by 97 cents per roasted pound, reaching $21.72 – a 4.7% increase over December 2024.

Want to explore the latest pricing trends? Click the link in our bio to read the newest SCRPI report.