Rain damage in Central America puts a damper on the arabica coffee bean

This might relate to some of the reasoning behind the coffee price hike at Starbucks on the East Coast. Many coffee roasters are trying their best not sacrifice quality and keep up with tight arabica supplies but the increasing prices makes it hard to do so.
Coffee roasters are now supplementing the arabica beans with robusta blends causing a more bittery taste which could be a turn off to consumers. Supplies of the arabica coffee bean will remain stagnant until Brazil’s harvest in mid-2012