For the Starbucks Crowd, New Prices Aren’t Too Mocha

For some time now, a plain old cuppa Joe hasn’t been good enough for a certain type of Los Angeles coffee drinker.

Pricey specialty coffee shops, catering to the pure addict, have sprung up faster than you can say, “Grande cafe Americano.”

But the price of addiction just went up.

A surge in coffee prices, attributed to crop-crippling frosts in Brazil, has begun. It struck first Friday at Starbucks, the hangout of the moment for many caffeine freaks.

Suddenly an iced grande latte, which on Thursday went for $2.65, was running $2.75 before tax.

But is the gourmet coffee trend dead? Are javaheads taking up Diet Coke, or even Snapple? No way. Once you’ve grown accustomed to the top-of-the-line stuff, it seems, no mere price hike can drive you away.

Besides, lots of people were too groggy to even care.

“I’m lucky I remember my name in the morning until my first cup of coffee,” said Vincent DeStefano, a regular at the Starbucks on Lake Avenue in Pasadena, who had come in with his own jumbo ceramic mug. “It’s no big deal. It’s 10 cents.”

There were a few grousers, naturally, among the usual crowd of joggers, commuters and other early morning revelers standing two abreast in lines that at times reached the door.

“Inflation hasn’t even gone up that much. I don’t want to buy the place, I just want to buy more coffee,” said George Rodriguez of Pasadena, who was buying for himself and a friend. “I support his coffee habit,” he said, nodding toward his comrade, “so it’s actually going to go up 20%.”

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Because of the Brazilian freeze, a trade association spokesman said, virtually every wholesale coffee roaster is raising prices, and increases are expected soon at specialty coffee shops all over.

At Starbucks, they tried to break the news gently. Placards were posted behind plexiglass informing customers of the change nearly a week before it took place. E-mail messages and interoffice memos were sent out ordering that containers of nickels and dimes be kept within easy reach of the cash register lest a patron come up short.

“The major question has been: ‘How much is my coffee gonna cost?’ ” said Eric Brouhard, manager of the Lake Avenue Starbucks.

The answer: An average of 5 cents more for each shot of espresso and 5 to 10 cents more for drip coffee.

In this elite coffee-drinking bracket, some didn’t notice the increase at all.

“I didn’t even realize there was one,” said Leaanne Dickson, who was patiently waiting for coffee and a sour cream and pecan muffin before heading off to work as the vice president of a credit union.

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The upscale coffee bar has become one of the great social levelers. Grunges, Suits and Sneakers peacefully convene, sipping double espressos, cappuccinos and tea, reading the paper and sharing conversation. “We almost liken it to a romance,” Brouhard said of the specialty coffee junkies. It begins with a drive by the shop and an initial visit, and it ends with a regular customer who buys coffee beans to brew at home. “Then they buy an espresso machine,” he said.

At the Starbucks on Colorado Boulevard in Old Pasadena, javaphiles and bibliophiles alike sit sipping coffee and browsing through the adjoining bookstore. Secondary school teacher and self-described writer/poet/shrink/four-cup-a-day coffee drinker David McCann sat reading a book and sipping coffee.

McCann was one of the few who felt the price increase would affect his coffee drinking, particularly given the company’s new refill policy. (Previously, refills were free and now they’re 45 cents.) “I drink too much coffee. My wife will tell you that,” he said. “Now I’ll probably just get a cup and no refill. That’ll be better for my health.”

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Industry insiders say higher prices won’t do much to erode the upscale coffee trend.

“It’s significant, but it’s happened before. Coffee will continue to be a popular beverage,” said Ted Lingle, executive director of the Specialty Coffee Assn. of America.

Brad Gold, regional operations manager for another popular coffee chain, Pasqua, agrees. In September, Pasqua also plans to increase prices. But Gold remains confident about the future of the specialty coffee business. “For those of us who grew up with canned--or even instant--coffee, the thought of going back is simply out of the realm of possibility.”

Still, for those who put price over premium, there is always Winchell’s.

Originally, the opening of a Starbucks nearby siphoned off some of the coffee trade from the Winchell’s on Lake.

“Before, I lost a lot of customers in coffee, but (Starbucks) brought me a lot of customers in doughnuts,” said Jose Argueta, the shop’s assistant manager. After the price increase, “maybe we will get more customers,” he said optimistically, throwing out a lure to any would-be Starbucks defectors: “Now we have five different kinds of coffees and decaf.”

And at 75 cents for a large, they are holding the line.