Coffee on American supermarket shelves is becoming increasingly less affordable for the average consumer. Ground coffee prices in US supermarkets surged almost 21% year-on-year in August, hitting a record $8.87 a pound, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That marks the steepest rise since the 1990s. Tariffs on Brazil and Vietnam have turned America’s most essential import into a bargaining chip. Consumers are trading down, stockpiling, or even swapping to caffeine tablets.| Coffee Intelligence