"...all for the price of a cup of coffee." The Christian Children's Fund might have to change their pitch-line in the coming months, as India reports their Robusta coffee crops are down due to the excessive rain they've been experiencing -- a drop which may result in an increase in coffee prices around the world. India's highest producing region, Karnataka, experienced intense rains during coffee's blossom season, which will likely impact the amount of beans they are able to harvest. While this news story focuses on the fact that Robusta is primarily used in instant coffees, it is also very often used in high-end gourmet brands (such as Lavazza or Illy) in their espresso blends to create a thicker crema and a bolder body. Robusta is bitter due to it's higher caffeine content, so it's not used in high quantities, but the increase in prices could have an impact on the cost of your favorite coffee beans -- whether or not you'll see this passed on to you remains to be seen. However, coffee's global commodities pricing has dropped significantly over the past several months, due to the economic issues seen in Europe and the US, so perhaps these environmental and economic issues will balance each other out.
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