Canadians love their coffee. It’s now the number one consumed beverage, even surpassing water.
However, costs have been on the rise for years, with the price of a brew increasing 81 per cent over the last two decades.
Kim Rashley-Anton, co-owner of McQuarrie’s Tea & Coffee, says this has led to the shop having to raise their prices.
“For 2025 it was a very big increase, and we increased our prices then. For the moment we are hoping to remain stable until the time that we can’t,” explains Rashley-Anton.
Fortunately for this historical Saskatoon shop, customers have still been coming in to buy tea or coffee beans on a consistent basis.
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This may be correlated to more and more residents in Saskatoon saying they prefer to brew their own cup of joe at home.
“Can’t do better than my own brew, so rarely I go out,” says one Saskatoon resident.
Despite the rise in price and consumers brewing at home, cafe culture still remains incredibly trendy thanks to a rise in Gen Z preferring a more artisan roast.
“Good coffee is good coffee, and I think people just don’t want crummy coffee,” shares Rashley-Anton.
Studies show younger adults are willing to pay more for coffee to make sure it is ethically sourced or supporting local or Indigenous brands. This is helping specialty roast shops like The Columbian Coffee Bar & Roastery to thrive, with seven stores across Edmonton and one location in Saskatoon.
“We started because we wanted to bring coffee from my family’s farm in Colombia. I am originally from Colombia,” notes Santiago Lopez, co-owner of The Colombian Coffee Bar & Roastery.
Lopez knows the only thing better than a cup of great coffee is the people you share it with.
“We have been so intentional about building community, opening in neighbourhoods — not downtown or busy areas. We want to create gathering spots so we can see families and neighbours coming and getting together,” explains Lopez.
This philosophy has made the roastery the 15th best coffee shop in all of North America, Central America and the Caribbean, reflecting the surge in consumers wanting high-quality brews.
“People need coffee and we are here, introducing them to the best specialty coffee coming out of Colombia,” notes Lopez.
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