MISSOULA — As tariff uncertainties continue in the United States, one Missoula business says they're still feeling the impacts.
For Drum Coffee, it's a feeling of instability.
Last year, new tariffs were placed on several coffee producers that export to the U.S.
As a result, Drum Coffee said they had to limit the diversity of coffee they offer to customers.
Drum's co-owner Ben Gaude said they can't experiment as much as they'd like due to limitations with what they can currently offer.
One of the most stressful factors, however, is constantly monitoring whether the coffee shop can survive on its profit margin.
It's not just tariffs driving price fluctuations. The question remains whether consumers will continue paying a higher price for that morning cup of coffee.
Gaude said they've had to increase their prices for several reasons, which can be difficult for the customer to understand.
"We had to raise our prices after COVID," he said. "As the cost of living is going up, we've had to raise our prices. When the tariffs hit, it destroyed our ability to absorb fluctuations in the market."
In November, President Trump signed an executive order to exempt specific agricultural products and other food goods from reciprocal tariffs. The broad list included coffee.
Despite that reversal, relief will often take several months as coffee orders are placed far in advance.
The future of tariffs is also still in limbo after a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that invalidated most of the President's tariffs.
