The Monday Morning Stimulus

Briefs Finance, Rain-Soaked Brazil Pushes Arabica Coffee Prices Upward

Your morning cup of coffee is about to get more complicated. The problem starts in Brazil, which grows about 45% of the world's arabica beans - the mild, kind that premium roasters love. And this year, the rain just will not stop.

Brazil's Cerrado Mineiro region, located some 600 kilometers north of São Paulo, experienced heavy downpours during June and July. Rainfall in coffee areas ran 250% to 500% above normal, and some spots saw eight times their usual amount.

That sounds like good news for thirsty plants. It is not. Coffee cherries that get knocked off the trees by heavy rain end up sitting on waterlogged soil. Some stayed wet for days. Beans that linger in that dampness start to ferment and develop defects, which ruins the delicate flavors that make fine arabica worth paying for.

"The vast majority of the fastest beans end up developing quality problems, resulting in coffee with a higher grade of fermentation, which significantly affects the beverage," said Simão de Lima, head of a coffee cooperative.

There must be some way to pin this on Trump!