Coffee Farmers Pay the Price

Coffee shops across the U.S. are being negatively impacted by tariffs—but communities at origin are feeling the effects even more.

BY HANH NGUYEN
BARISTA MAGAZINE ONLINE

Featured photo courtesy of Hanh Nguyen

The current uncertainty around tariffs has the coffee industry swirling like a shot of espresso gone wrong: bitter, muddy, and hard to swallow.

Tariffs on coffee imports take something that is already rare and make it more expensive. There are real economic considerations. Coffee shops across the country are facing tough choices, including raising prices to keep their doors open. But for me, this moment feels personal in a different way.

I spent two years traveling to coffee-growing communities, not as a policy expert but as a filmmaker, listening and learning. So, when I think about these tariffs, I see the faces of the farmers and families I met in Nicaragua and Guatemala, and the roasters and baristas who take pride in the drinks they craft. I think about people: the people who could be hit hardest by decisions far from their control.

When my co-director, Vishal Solanki, and I began making our film, “Caffeinated,“ we didn’t set out to make it about economics or global policy. We just wanted to tell a story about the many hands that shape a cup of coffee. What we found along the way was a global network of growers, roasters, exporters, importers, café owners, and baristas.

What I’ve learned is that the United States imports 99% of the coffee Americans consume—mostly from what’s known as the “Bean Belt,” a stretch around the equator with ideal conditions for coffee to thrive. But it doesn’t thrive on climate alone. It thrives because of people. And many of those people are already navigating climate change, price instability, and long-standing inequality. Adding tariffs to the mix doesn’t just raise prices at the register; it adds pressure on lives already under strain.

Earlier this year, a 10% base tariff was issued on all U.S. coffee imports, with higher levies on key producers like Nicaragua, Indonesia, and my home country of Vietnam. The National Coffee Association began petitioning for exemptions, warning that these price hikes could devastate both small roasters and cafés, and ripple back through the entire supply chain. The courts have issued an injunction, but more action by the administration is likely brewing.

What’s often missing from the conversation is the most personal part: the impact on the farmers—real people and their families—who grow this beloved crop for our consumption.

When we released “Caffeinated,“ it was meant as a love letter to coffee, yes, but also as a mirror to the industry—a way to see past the cup and into the lives that shape it. Ten years later, I find myself reflecting on what’s changed, and what hasn’t. I’m no longer in the fields with the people who welcomed us into their lives, but from what I can see, the foundational imbalance remains. Farmers still take on the greatest risks and receive the smallest rewards. And now, they may have to bear the weight of policies they had no hand in creating.

Yes, coffee is big business, but for those of us who’ve worked behind the bar or spent time in the field, we know it’s also something far more personal. It’s ritual. It’s culture. It’s a way of life. And for many of the people I met, it’s survival. 

Consider that, according to the IDH Sustainable Trade Initiative:

• Eighty percent of the world’s coffee is grown by 25 million smallholder farms
• 125 million people globally depend on coffee for their livelihoods
• For most producers, coffee makes up 70% to 90% of their household income

These are not just numbers—they’re lives, families, and communities that could be pushed to the brink by tariffs that increase costs across the entire supply chain. If we lose sight of the people who make up this supply chain, we lose more than good coffee—we lose a part of what makes this industry so special.

I encourage you to reach out to your local elected officials to support the National Coffee Association’s lobby for an exemption on coffee from any future tariffs. And if you haven’t seen “Caffeinated“ in a while, it might be worth revisiting it with today’s context in mind and as a gentle reminder of the people most affected by these tariffs. If you’ve never seen it, now’s a good time. Maybe it will spark a conversation in your café, classroom, or community. Because behind every cup is a story—a human story—and it’s one we shouldn’t lose sight of.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hanh Nguyen is a Los Angeles-based director, cinematographer, and editor with 15 years of experience in documentary filmmaking, including the 2015 award-winning documentary feature Caffeinated. Her work spans a wide range of industries, from automotive and architecture to classical music and coffee. She is also co-founder of the women-owned brand storytelling agency Embers & Oak Storyworks. 

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