Returning Tariff Recovery Credits to Our Customers

What happened, what we recovered, and how we are passing eligible value back

November 5, 2026

In April 2025, by executive order, broad new import tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, commonly known as IEEPA were announced. A baseline 10% tariff took effect on April 5, followed by varying country-specific rates.

Coffee is not grown at any meaningful commercial scale across the continental United States. Although limited amounts are produced in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and parts of California, 99.9% of all the coffee Americans drink must be imported from coffee-growing countries.

For roasters like Caffe Ibis, importing green coffee is not optional, it is fundamental to our business and a domestic supply capable of replacing it simply doesn’t exist. These tariffs therefore added a federal tax to an agricultural product that American coffee businesses and consumers depend on importing.

Imported coffee remained subject to the IEEPA tariffs through November 12, 2025. Coffee and tea were exempted beginning November 13.

On February 20, 2026, the United States Supreme Court ruled that IEEPA did not authorize the president to impose these tariffs. Put plainly, the duties had been imposed without lawful authority under IEEPA. A federal refund process followed, allowing coffee importers to begin recovering duties paid to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

As those recoveries moved through the coffee supply chain, Caffe Ibis began receiving tariff credits tied to specific green coffee lots we had purchased.

Caffe Ibis developed this voluntary customer-credit program on our own initiative. We chose to return the eligible portion of these recoveries to recognize tariff costs that had been reflected in our customers’ purchases.

Why this required so much work

Caffe Ibis did not receive one simple refund that could be divided evenly among all customers.

Each credit was connected to a particular green coffee lot, country of origin, entry date, tariff rate, and purchase. We then had to trace those coffees through roasting weight loss, blends, changing product formulations, packaged coffee SKUs, wholesale invoices, online orders, café purchases, and prepared drinks.

More than 25 green coffee lots were involved. Completing the customer-level calculations required at least 60 hours of focused staff work, in addition to the months spent tracking tariffs and related coffee costs.

There was no automated government or industry process for carrying importer-level recoveries all the way through to roasted-coffee customers. We built that process because we believe it is the right thing to do.

Why not every coffee or purchase qualifies

These credits apply only to coffee that was actually subject to an eligible IEEPA tariff.

Some coffees were already in our inventory before the tariffs took effect. Others did not need to be purchased during the tariff period. Some arrived after coffee became exempt. Tariff rates also varied by country and timing, and we sometimes adjusted our purchasing to reduce exposure to particularly high rates.

We are therefore crediting only the tariff costs connected to affected coffee lots. Coffee that was not tariffed is not included.

Our customer-credit period begins with our January 9, 2026 price increase and continues through July 31, 2026. Before January 9, Caffe Ibis absorbed the tariff expense ourselves. We delayed equipment purchases and redirected cash toward green coffee bills during an already difficult coffee market. Because those earlier tariff costs were not passed through in our pricing, they are not included in the customer-credit pool.

We are returning what customers paid, while retaining only the portion of the cost Caffe Ibis absorbed.

How credits are being distributed

Approximately 3,500 customer accounts and purchases are included.

Online and café bag purchases

Eligible customers who purchased tariff-affected bags of coffee through caffeibis.com or our downtown Logan café will receive credit directly on their caffeibis.com customer accounts.

The credits will be uploaded on the morning of November 5 as store credit.

Customers connected to an eligible purchase will receive a notification when their credit has been posted. Retail credits will remain available for 18 months from the posting date and will expire on May 5, 2028.

Prepared café drinks

Coffee served as a drink cannot be matched as precisely to an individual green coffee lot and customer account. We therefore calculated a separate allocation for the tariffed coffee used in prepared beverages.

From November 5 through December 4, every coffee-based drink at our Gallery Café in downtown Logan will be discounted by $0.50. We expect this 30-day program to return approximately $1,500 to café customers.

Purchases without an identifiable customer account

Some eligible Shopify purchases could not be connected to a customer account. Rather than retaining that value, Caffe Ibis will donate $400 to the ACLU of Utah.

Why coffee prices are not permanently decreasing

Our January 2026 price increase reflected several rising costs, with tariffs representing only part of that increase.

Our purchasing costs reflect the quality of the specialty coffees we source, premiums associated with Organic, Fairtrade, Smithsonian Bird Friendly®, and Women Grown coffees, and our long-term producer relationships. Roasting, labor, packaging, fuel, freight, and other operating expenses also contribute to the price of each bag.

These credits return eligible tariff costs reflected in past purchases. Recovering that specific historical expense does not mean the broader costs of sourcing and producing our coffee have returned to earlier levels, so the credits do not reverse our January price increase.

Why we are sharing this publicly

We want our customers to understand what we recovered, how we calculated eligible credits, and how those credits are being distributed. This is a voluntary program we developed to return tariff costs that were reflected in qualifying coffee purchases.

We know rising costs affect our customers, too. While these credits address only one specific expense, we hope they provide a little relief on a future coffee purchase.

Thank you for your continued support of Caffe Ibis. We appreciate your trust and want to be transparent about both the costs we face and the value we can return.

Sincerely,
The team at Caffe Ibis Coffee Roasting Company