Coffee drinkers in for jolt as Brazilian bean prices jump another 10 percent

Arabica coffee prices rose 10 percent more on Monday, after jumping nearly 20 percent last week, to their highest in nearly seven years as unusual cold weather threatens coffee crops in the world’s largest producer Brazil.

Severe frosts last week damaged a large part of fields in the main Brazilian coffee belt and a new polar air mass is forecast to move over the same areas later this week, which will be the third strong cold front to hit crops this year. Coffee trees are extremely sensitive to frost, which can cause severe damage and even kill trees completely. If a farm needs to replant trees, production would take around three years.