Reverie Coffee Roasters featured in WSJ
Reverie Coffee Roasters, one of the most well-known independent artisanal coffee shops in Wichita, was recently featured in a Wall Street Journal article. The piece, which appeared in the Monday, March 30 print edition, highlights some of the challenges founder and owner Andrew Gough faces as the “roller coaster” price of coffee fluctuates due in part to shifting tariff on goods from Brazil, hedge fund positions in the coffee market, and increased fuel and freight costs.
Reverie Coffee Roasters is a Groover Labs vendor, and Gough is no stranger to the Wichita startup ecosystem. He provides free coffee during 1 Million Cups, which takes place every Wednesday in our event venue, and for Startup Week, now in its fourth year. Reverie was recently selected as one of the Top 10 Independent Coffee Shops in America by USA Today.
A Note: We highlight our members (and former members), along with relevant community stories, whenever they make headlines, and we want to encourage and support journalism. Some outlets, like the the Wall Street Journal, are subscription-based. You can read the full story at the links below, or stop by the coffee bar to read the print editions.
We’ve included a few paragraphs from the story below:
Why the Cost of Your Coffee Has Soared—and Isn’t Going Down Soon
One roaster’s ride on the roller coaster of coffee pricing helps explain the many reasons consumers keep paying more for a cup of joe
By Inti Pacheco
March 29, 2026
Fans of Reverie Roasters’ Boneshaker Espresso blend are familiar with the sticker shock that has hit coffee prices nationwide.
For years, a 12-ounce bag of the bestseller cost $15 at its Kansas roastery and two coffee shops. As of last spring, it is $17. And Reverie’s owner, Andrew Gough, is raising the price again next month, to $18.
That reflects just a share of the often-hidden factors driving up the cost of doing business for artisanal purveyors like Reverie. Tariffs inflated his expenses, but so have crop failures, higher rents and rising labor costs.
Now, after commodity coffee prices dipped in recent months, concerns about the Iran war and stepped-up trading in coffee futures markets are driving them up again.
Read the full Wall Street Journal article here, or read the print edition in our coffee bar.
(Newsletter photo courtesy David Robert Elliot for WSJ.)
