It is a daily ritual for millions of Australians, but if you have noticed the price of your morning flat white or soy latte increase, brace yourself — it is likely to get worse.

By the end of the year, coffee lovers will be paying up to $7 for a regular cup as cafes nationwide struggle to absorb growing overhead costs warned David Parnham, president of the Café Owners and Baristas Association of Australia.

“What’s happening globally is there are shortages obviously from catastrophes that are happening in places like Brazil with frosts, and certain growing conditions in some of the coffee growing areas,” Mr Parnham said.

“The cost of shipping has become just ridiculous.”

Key points:

  • Prepare to be paying up to $7 a cup by the end of the year
  • Shipping costs and natural disasters in coffee regions are being blamed for the price increase
  • Australians consume one billion cups of coffee annually, but cafe owners say an increase in price won’t change that

It’s nearly five times the container prices of two years ago due to global shortages of containers and ships to be able to take things around the world.

Frosts in Brazil have impacted supply.(Supplied: Melbourne Coffee Merchants)

The pain will be felt from the cities to the outback, but Mr Parnham said the increase was well overdue, with the average $4 price for a standard latte, cappuccino and flat white remaining stable for years.

“The reality is it should be $6-7. It’s just that cafés are holding back on passing that pricing on per cup to the consumer,” he said.

But roaster Raoul Hauri said it hadn’t made a dent in sales, with more than 300 customers still coming through the doors for their daily fix. “No one really batted an eyelid,” he said. “We thought we would get more pushback, but I think at the moment people understand.

“It is overdue and unfortunately it can’t be sustained, and at some point the consumer has to bear that.”

Paving the way for Australian producers

While coffee drinkers will be feeling the pinch, Australian producers like Candy MacLaughlin from Skybury Roasters hopes the increasing cost of imports will pave the way for growth in the local industry, allowing it to compete in the market.

“[In the ] overall cost of business, we haven’t been able to drop our prices to be competitive, so we’ve really worked on that niche base,” Ms MacLaughlin said.

“All those things will help us to grow our coffee plantation once more.”

Candy and her husband Marion produce 40 tonnes of coffee annually but they are prepared to scale up operations(Supplied)

She said the industry could eventually emulate the gin industry, with boutique operations cropping up across the country.

“I think the demand for Australian coffee at the moment is an ever-changing landscape and more and more Aussies are starting to question where their food comes from, who is growing it”

“What you will get is all these kinds of niche coffee plantations who develop a very unique flavour profile and then market in funky packaging and appeal to certain markets,” she said.

“That’s where I see the next stage of the Australian coffee industry going.”

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Oscars push back nominations announcement again amid L.A. wildfires

Published:

The Oscar nominations are being pushed back almost a week from their original date amid the ongoing California wildfires. Nominations will now be announced on Jan. 23, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Monday.

“We are all devastated by the impact of the fires and the profound losses experienced by so many in our community,” Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy president Janet Yang said in a joint statement.

“The Academy has always been a unifying force within the film industry, and we are committed to standing together in the face of hardship.”

With fires still active in the Los Angeles area, the film academy also extended the nominations voting period for its members through Friday. Originally, nominations were to be announced that morning.   

The organization that puts on the Oscars has also made the decision to cancel its annual nominees luncheon, an untelevised event best known for the “class photos” it produces annually. The Scientific and Technical Awards, previously set for Feb. 18, will be rescheduled later.

The 97th Oscars will still happen on March 2, at the Dolby Theatre, with a live television broadcast on ABC beginning at 7 p.m. ET and a live stream on Hulu.

WATCH | Officials concerned that winds could further the flames: 

Winds expected to further fuel L.A. wildfires

22 hours ago

Duration 2:27

As people wait for information about their homes, crews battling wildfires around Los Angeles County are worried the return of strong winds will add more fuel to the raging wildfires.

Grammys continuing

Other award shows and industry events have been postponed or seen delays amid the fires: the Critics Choice Awards have been rescheduled from Jan. 12 to Jan. 26, while the AFI Awards Luncheon was postponed indefinitely and the annual BAFTA Tea Party was cancelled. 

Also Monday, the Writers Guild of America postponed the announcement of its nominees “until further notice.” Originally scheduled for Thursday, the nominations were first delayed until today before a second postponement. That ceremony is slated for Feb. 15.

The Grammys will still take place on Feb. 2 on CBS as planned, but the show will raise funds for wildfire relief efforts, according to a letter sent to Recording Academy members on Monday. 

This year’s show “will carry a renewed sense of purpose: raising additional funds to support wildfire relief efforts and honouring the bravery and dedication of first responders who risk their lives to protect ours,” Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. and Tammy Hurt, chair of the board of trustees, said in the letter. 

“In challenging times, music has the power to heal, comfort, and unite like nothing else.”

A shot from far away shows the stage at the Grammy Awards, with two people onstage accepting an award, while two presenters stand farther back. A large screen behind them shows a bust of a blonde woman with her hair in a ponytail. A crowd is visible seated below the stage.
Finneas, left, and Billie Eilish accept the award for song of the year for “What Was I Made For?” during last year’s Grammy Awards. This year, the event will go on as planned, but the telecast will raise funds for wildfire relief. (Chris Pizzello/Invision/The Associated Press)

This comes after the Recording Academy, the organization behind the Grammy Awards, launched the Los Angeles Fire Relief Effort last week alongside MusiCares, with a starting pledge of $1 million US to support musicians and music professionals in the affected region. 

Netflix donates $10M 

Many organizations and industry players have come together to raise money for wildfire relief over the past week as multiple blazes in Los Angeles County consumed neighbourhoods, sent tens of thousands fleeing and killed at least 24 people. 

Netflix will be donating $10 million US split between a number of wildfire recovery funds, the organization said on Monday. 

“Many of our employees and creative partners have been directly impacted by this disaster,” Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, said in a statement. 

“For many people who aren’t familiar with it, Los Angeles conjures images of palm trees and red carpets; mansions and movie stars. But for those of us lucky enough to call this city home, Los Angeles is far more than that. It’s a family — one made up of extraordinarily talented, hardworking people from all over the world and all walks of life, many of whom came here chasing a dream.”

A neighbourhood that has been almost entirely destroyed is seen in this photo. One intact home is visible at the top of a hill. Palm trees frame the image.
The Pacific Palisades, a neighbourhood home to many celebrities, was devastated by the Palisades fire last week. (Noah Berger/The Associated Press)

He added that the “next few years will be a rebuilding time for many of us,” but that L.A. will “come back stronger than before.”

The Walt Disney Company announced on Friday that it would be committing $15 million US to help organizations on the ground dealing with the devastating fires, stating that “the history of The Walt Disney Company is inextricably linked to the greater Los Angeles region.”

The Screen Actors Guild, which cancelled their in-person nominations announcement on Wednesday amid the fires, donated $1 million US through the SAG-AFTRA foundation to assist members who are impacted by the fires. The foundation is also accepting donations through their natural disaster relief fund. 

Oscar nominations were postponed in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ceremony itself was also delayed, which had happened several times before: The ceremony was pushed back a week because of disastrous flooding in Los Angeles in 1938.

In 1968, it was delayed two days following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And in 1981, it was put off for 24 hours after President Ronald Reagan was shot in Washington D.C.

The 1981 decision was made four hours before the broadcast was scheduled to begin.

A shot taken from a little above the scene shows the Oscars red carpet, with a few stars arriving in front of big white 3D letters that say "OSCARS".
The Oscars nominations and ceremony were also delayed in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Mark Terrill, Pool/The Associated Press)

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