All I need… another reason not to get my coffee at Starbucks…

I believe in supporting the local ‘Mom & Pop’ coffee shops. The coffee is just as good (if not better), I get a better price, and most importantly, my hard-earned $3.75 stays in my community, supporting the people I live with, work with, and pay taxes with.

Now, I’m not saying that Starbucks makes bad coffee. Au Contraire. However, I believe that when an organization gets too big, any organization, it looses touch with the local people in the community, no matter how well-intentioned they want to be.

That being said, be prepared to pay more for that Iced Venti Caramel Macchiato, as this story from Reuters explains…

By Nichola Groom

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Starbucks Corp will raise U.S. prices on coffee, lattes and other drinks by an average of 9 cents a cup next week to help offset soaring costs for milk and other commodities, a spokesman said on Monday.

The widely anticipated move marks Starbucks’ second price increase in less than a year and comes a month after the coffee shop chain’s chief financial officer warned it would be “very challenging” for Starbucks to meet the high end of its 2007 earnings forecast, in part because of rising dairy prices.

U.S. milk prices have soared recently amid strong global demand for dairy products and higher production costs.

“We’re always looking at the business costs, and given the rising cost environment in which we operate, we think this is an appropriate time,” spokesman Brandon Borrman said.

The increase will vary by drink and by market, but will average out to about 9 cents a cup, Borrman said. Starbucks’ last price rise of about 5 cents per drink went into effect in October.

Analysts said the increase would be welcomed by investors (the people who are just after your money), who have seen Starbucks’ shares fall more than 20 percent this year on concerns about higher costs, slowing U.S. sales growth and increased competition from fast-food rivals.

“I can’t imagine that it comes as a surprise to anyone, but it should definitely be a positive on both sales and earnings going forward,” said Dan Geiman of McAdams Wright Ragen, who has a “buy” rating on Starbucks shares.

And as with past Starbucks price increases, analysts also said consumers were unlikely to balk at paying a few cents more for their daily caffeine fix.

“There will probably be some grumblings initially, but at the end of the day I think people aren’t going to change their pattern of buying,” said Morningstar Inc restaurant analyst John Owens (in other words, they know you’re hooked on being trendy and buying only their coffee. After all, the gas company has you by the same short hairs and no one seems to be complaining about it…).

The latest increase affects drinks made behind the counter and is effective July 31 at Starbucks’ 6,300 company-owned stores in the United States, Borrman said. Licensed stores control their own prices, but are expected to follow the move, he added (because they can and then blame corporate). There are about 3,500 licensed Starbucks stores in the United States.

The prices of bottled drinks, whole bean coffee and food are unaffected.

Starbucks shares rose 47 cents to close at $28.17 on Monday on Nasdaq. The shares after hours were down two cents each at $28.15.

***Comments in italics are mine and mine alone and (probably) not the opinion of the author or reuters news service, who will be raising their prices so that they can still get their morning cup’o joe… You can agree or disagree. If you agree, thanks. If you disagree, thanks also. either way, you’re at least thinking about it and making an informed decision when you get your next cup of swill- er, I mean, Starbucks…

…and please buy local.