Research in agricultural economics has traditionally treated coffee as a commodity. This overlooks the complex specialty coffee market. Like other fine beverages such as fine wine, specialty coffee is characterized by differentiated products with substantial price variation. Yet, despite its growing importance, research on specialty coffee pricing remains limited. This study addresses this gap by running hedonic regressions on hand-collected price data from roasters. This allows us to quantify the value attached by end consumers to various coffee attributes. Our results highlight the importance of terroir, with some regions (e.g., Chiriquí in Panama, Kona in Hawaii, and Huila, Cauca, and Quindío in Colombia) and some varieties (Geisha and SL28) commanding important price premiums. Consistent with the existing literature, we also find a significant relationship between scores and prices.
