DETROIT - Jordi Carbonell, owner of Detroit coffee shop Café Con Leche, said the rising cost of coffee is impacting business, the Detroit News reports.

"If I'm increasing prices, I'm going to lose customers," Carbonelli said. "Maybe they're going to lose quality in coffee, but this year I know they're pretty tight with their money. They're going to go to a gas station to buy coffee."

Carbonelli said the wholesale cost of coffee has climbed steadily for the past year, and he has raised prices three times since opening in February 2009, each time by 5 cents. Currently he sells a 12-ounce coffee for $1.65.

Rather than raise prices further, Carbonelli has begun selling additional food items, such as deli sandwiches. He said it??s far easier to increase the price of a sandwich than a cup of coffee.

For coffee retailers like Carbonelli, bean prices began to rise two and a half years ago following a shortage in Colombia. However, the past year has sent prices rising dramatically, following poor weather and growing conditions in coffee-producing countries. As a result, wholesale bean prices have risen to a 14-year high.

"From our standpoint, for someone who has bought this stuff, the cost has doubled," said Tom Isaia, president of wholesale roaster Coffee Express Co. located in Plymouth, Michigan. Isaia sold his roasted product to restaurants and retailers for $5.50 a pound in June 2010; the price is now about $8.

According to the Intercontinental Exchange, coffee is selling for $250 for 100 pounds this week, compared with $140 in June 2010. But this week??s price is down from $300 last month, when Arabica beans hit a 34-year high.

In May, the J. M. Smucker Co. ?" which sells Folgers, Dunkin' Donuts, Millstone and Folgers Gourmet Selections coffee brands ?" announced increases averaging 11 percent on affected items. And Starbucks will charge about 17 percent more for packaged coffee sold in its stores beginning July 12.

Some coffee insiders blame speculators for driving up the price of coffee. But Bob Fish, CEO of Biggby Coffee, said prices have risen because money isn't being made in other areas of Wall Street. As a result, traders are putting their money into commodities, speculating about higher prices because inflation typically follows a recession.

For more on rising food costs, read "Raw Deal" in the upcoming July issue of NACS Magazine.