A FIELD GUIDE
How to Read The Exchange
The Espressocrat's market page shows real coffee futures prices from New York and London. If you've ever wondered what those numbers actually mean — and why they matter to your morning cup — this guide explains every element, line by line.
ONE — THE SUMMARY CARD
The price at a glance
At the top of the Markets page, two cards show today's prices. Here's what every line means.
TWO — THE CHART
Reading the price line
The chart below the summary cards plots daily closing prices over time. The shape tells you where the market has been — and gives a sense of where it might be heading.
THREE — CONTRACT CODES
What KCN26 actually means
Coffee futures don't just have one price — they have many, one for each delivery month. The contract code tells you which month's delivery you're looking at.
Robusta uses the same pattern: RM = Robusta on ICE Futures Europe in London. RMN26 = Robusta, July 2026.
FOUR — TWO BEANS, TWO MARKETS
Why Arabica and Robusta don't track together
Arabica (¢/lb, New York)
The premium bean. Grown at altitude in Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia and Central America. Its price reacts to Brazilian weather (especially frost and drought), the Brazilian real exchange rate, and global specialty coffee demand. 75% of global production. The bean in your specialty café.
Robusta ($/t, London)
The workhorse. Grown at lower altitudes in Vietnam, Indonesia, Uganda and parts of Brazil. Higher caffeine, more bitter, cheaper. Its price reacts to Vietnamese rainfall, shipping costs, and demand from instant coffee and espresso blend manufacturers. The backbone of most mass-market coffee.
FIVE — FROM THE MARKET TO YOUR CUP
Why The Exchange is part of The Espressocrat
You'll never trade these contracts — most people don't. But the price you see on this page is the number that ripples through the entire coffee supply chain. When Arabica spikes, your favourite roaster's bag of single-origin Ethiopian costs more two months later. When Robusta crashes, your supermarket espresso stays cheap. The market is, quite literally, the upstream of your morning.
— The Espressocrat