NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� For years, it was a daily McDonald鈥檚 trip for a cup of coffee with 10 sugars and five creams. Later, it was Starbucks caramel macchiatos with almond milk and two pumps of syrup.
Coffee has been a morning ritual for Chandra Donelson since she was old enough to drink it. But, dismayed by rising prices, the 35-year-old from Washington, D.C., did the unthinkable: She gave it up.
鈥淚 did that daily for years. I loved it. That was just my routine,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd now it鈥檚 not.鈥�
Years of steadily climbing coffee prices have some in this country of coffee lovers upending their habits by nixing caf茅 visits, switching to cheaper brews or foregoing it altogether.
Coffee prices in the U.S. were up 18.3% in January from a year ago, according to the latest . Over five years, the government reported, coffee prices rose 47%.
That extraordinary rise has brought some to take extraordinary measures.
鈥淏efore, I thought, 鈥楾here鈥檚 no way I could make it through my day without coffee,鈥欌�� says Liz Sweeney, 50, of Boise, Idaho, a former 鈥渃offee addict鈥� who has cut her consumption. 鈥淣ow my car鈥檚 not on automatic pilot.鈥�
Sweeney used to have three cups of coffee at home each day and stop at a caf茅 whenever she left the house. As prices climbed last year, though, she nixed coffee shop visits and cut her intake to a cup a day at home. To make up for the caffeine, she pops open a can of Diet Coke at home or rolls through McDonald鈥檚 for one.
Dan DeBaun, 34, of Minnetonka, Minnesota, has likewise trimmed back on coffee shop visits, conscious of the increasing expense as he and his wife save up for a house.
鈥淲hat used to be a $2 coffee, it鈥檚 now $5, $6,鈥� says DeBaun, who now buys ground coffee at Trader Joe鈥檚 and fills up a travel mug to bring to the office.
Data from Toast, a payment platform used by more than 150,000 restaurants, found the median price of a regular hot coffee in the U.S. had climbed to $3.61 in December, with wide variation by location. The median price of cold brews was $5.55.
Virtually all coffee consumed in the U.S. is imported. Though tariffs affected some imports of coffee in 2025, . Climate issues 鈥� drought in Vietnam, heavy rain in Indonesia, and hot, dry weather in Brazil 鈥� crops and driving up global prices.
Two-thirds of Americans drink coffee daily, according to the National Coffee Association. For many, it is such an indispensable part of their routine, the soaring price has led to nothing more than grumbling.
The coffee association says its surveys show coffee consumption is broadly holding steady despite price hikes. But, squeezed by the cost of everything from rent to beef, others are shaking up their habit.
Sharon Cooksey, 55, of Greensboro, North Carolina, was visiting her local Starbucks most weekday mornings for a caramel latte until scaling back last year. First, she switched to brewing Starbucks at home. Then, she discovered Lavazza coffee was about 40% cheaper and switched to it.
鈥淚 can buy a bag of coffee for $6?鈥� she said to herself. 鈥淚t was like I had just discovered another world. The multiverse opened up to me in the coffee aisle of Publix.鈥�
She has noticed her home-brewed costs tick upward, too, but it鈥檚 nothing compared to her caf茅 habit. A bag of beans that lasts weeks costs her about the same as one latte.
Cooksey misses the social aspect of visiting the caf茅, where baristas greeted her by name. But she鈥檚 been surprised to find she actually prefers the way her homemade coffees taste.
鈥淚鈥檒l be damned if it didn鈥檛 taste so good,鈥� she says.
Growing up, Donelson watched enviously as her mother made a daily coffee jaunt (also to McDonald鈥檚, also 10 sugars and five creams), and she duplicated the habit. She went from college to the Air Force to a government job as a data and artificial intelligence strategist, but through it all, coffee was there.
She noticed the growing expense of her routine, but kept it up until a government shutdown halted her paychecks last fall and she needed to trim her spending. Looking for a morning substitute, she landed on a Republic of Tea blend with a healthy squeeze of honey.
鈥淭wenty cents a cup compared to $7 or $8 a cup,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he math just makes sense.鈥�
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Matt Sedensky can be reached at msedensky@ap.org and
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