Why single-origin coffee can cost $30 per pound. More than 5 times the US average.

• Single-origin specialty coffee can cost over $30 per pound.
• That's more than five times the average price of a pound of coffee in the US.
• The most expensive coffee is grown at high altitudes and is picked by hand, one cherry at a time.

Single-origin specialty coffee can cost over $30 per pound, more than five times the average price of 1 pound of ground coffee in the US. “Specialty” is the term for the highest-quality coffee, and aficionados describe its taste with words more frequently used by sommeliers, like “floral” or “fruity.” Reaching this level of quality requires investment and labor at every step of production. But despite the prices a roasted bag of single-origin coffee can reach in the world’s wealthiest countries, the farmers who handpick each coffee cherry struggle to earn a profit. We went to Kenya to find out what it takes to grow high-quality coffee, and why it’s so expensive.