Coffee Business Boom

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Story Published: Jul 8, 2009 at 10:19 PM PST

By Stacy Lilienthal

In the midst of a sleepy economy, coffee sales are waking up. In fact, some local coffee shops are having to revamp their business just to keep up with the demand.

It's a well-needed wake up call. One kind of business is seeing profits jolt. "I don't think you feel like your ready for the world if you're a coffee drinker and you haven't had your coffee," said Java Heaven Owner, Keith Taylor.

Java Heaven is temporarily closed. They're doubling the size of their business to make room for the demand. "When you go through 30 gallons of milk a day, it gets a little tedious with a home size refrigerator. This will be a welcome change," Taylor chuckled.

In the last couple months a second Brewlesque Espresso sprang up in Yakima. Shop owner Vicki Gibson was asked, "Why do you think more people are buying coffee now of all times when you keep hearing about penny pinching and all that?"

"I think we all need some kind of avenue during stressful times," she said.

Even nationally, coffee sales are hot. This week, shares of the five largest publicly traded coffee companies are up. Starbucks jumped by 50%. Green Mountain doubled. Diedrich Coffee is up more than 4 thousand percent this year.

In about two weeks, you won't see cones or ladders by Java Heaven anymore. Business will be open again, and Taylor expects it to be good. "You get used to that every morning and that's one of the last things you want to give up." And it seems like more people are taking extra sips as coffee sales heat up.

Coffee you make at home is also going through a bit of a caffeine high. Smucker, the owner of Folgers Coffee and Dunkin' Donuts bagged coffee just had its most profitable year.

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