In December, coffee prices reached a nearly 50-year high, after years of droughts and flooding have strained the global coffee beans supply while global demand has kept rising, reports The New York Times.

Futures prices for arabica beans rose in mid-December to more than $3.30 per pound, breaking a 47-year-old record.

Despite being one of the world’s most consumed beverages, coffee can be grown only under very specific conditions, requiring misty, humid and tropical climates, with rich soil free of disease. The United States is the world’s largest importer of the beans, and the scarcity of sources is making global coffee prices susceptible to the effects of extreme weather.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, around 57% of the world’s coffee production last year came from arabica beans, and Brazil is the largest exporter. But a severe drought there this summer devastated the harvest, which typically runs from May to September, and it could threaten next year’s crop as well.

In Vietnam, a severe drought followed by heavy rains harmed the world’s largest reserves of robusta, which is the second-most-popular variety globally and is commonly used in instant coffee blends.