GROUNDS FOR CONCERN HIGH COFFEE PRICE HAS CAFE OWNERS IN THE HOT SEAT.

A Muslim, a Jew and a born-again Christian had discussed their souls over a few hot brews when talk suddenly drifted to a pressing common concern: the price of coffee.

Even as the price of raw coffee beans has fallen to 25-year lows, prices at their favorite cafe in Sherman Oaks hadn't dipped a Javanese cent.

``Every day I pay $4 for coffee - house blend,'' said Ron Shirvani, 41, part of the Sherman Oaks Starbucks coffeeklatch. ``I still pay for it because I'm addicted to coffee (but) they should lower it to a dollar.''

But vendors said they can't because there is much more to their expenses than the price of the coffee itself - like the cost of help, power and the cost of the fancy new coffee cafes that people seem to love.

Forget Boston tea. Coffee is the all-American caffeine addiction, but lately it's become a national teeth-grinding headache. A year ago, Americans complained gas prices were too high considering the cost of raw petrol.

Now, it's joe that's in the hot seat.

Millions of Americans ante up each day for the nation's zestiest stimulant. Yet while America is on the move - eyes wide open from 150 milligrams of caffeine per coffee refill - coffee growers across Latin America have left their fields in droves.

Overproduction, slow-growth consumption and heavy stockpiles of coffee beans have whacked 70 percent off the wholesale value of coffee, threatening up to 20 million Third World farmers.

``Coffee is just being allowed to fall off the bushes,'' one Mexican farmer told The Associated Press. ``It's not even worth picking.''

Yet prices haven't dropped much, if at all. Even for those who prefer to brew at home, supermarkets offer little price relief. A 12-ounce can of Folgers at some Los Angeles-area Ralphs supermarkets recently went for $3.99, unchanged from six months ago.

A Folgers spokeswoman said the company has lowered prices five times in the last 18 months. Nonetheless, Ralphs says it makes little on its coffee.

``Whenever we get a better deal on a product, we try to pass it on to our consumers,'' said Ralphs spokesman Terry O-Neil. ``We offer what we think are excellent prices.''

``At this point, we don't have any plans to lower prices,'' said Audrey Lincoff, spokeswoman for Starbucks Coffee Co. in Seattle, which has more than 4,500 coffee outlets throughout the world.

There's far more at the bottom of a cup of premium coffee than pennies for a few coffee cherries, she and other coffee vendors explain.

There's the price of coffee - nothing but the best high-altitude beans, which retailers say cost coffee shops about $5 a pound. There are labor costs to brew and pour it. There's the cost of fresh cream and other additives demanded by connoisseurs.

Then there's the soaring cost of real estate, espresso makers and the power to run them.

Take Canoga Park's Cafe Madrid. It's a Mediterranean-village dream built of polished granite, wrought iron, inlaid copper, designer touches and local artworks, selling ambience as much as it's selling cafe au laits.

Owner Joe Vogt, co-founder of Main Street Canoga Park and founder of the Canoga Park Improvement Association, opened its doors near the Madrid Theatre last November as a testament to redevelopment.

But he's yet to make a profit, he said. ``I put a lot of money into this place - more than Starbucks - and if I didn't own the building we wouldn't be making it,'' said Vogt, who doesn't drink coffee but loves to sell a good cup. ``(But) right now, it's a good business to be in if you sell quality coffee products.''

``I don't mind paying for a cup here,'' said Pauline Mehan, 38, a Londoner sipping a $1.20 cup at Cafe Madrid, who added that she objects to the large chains that charge more.

Because of the demand for steaming quality coffee, caffeine heads in the San Fernando Valley say they're not prepared for a toss-it-in-the-harbor coffee party - regardless of its price.

``I'm paying for the ambience,'' said Terry Hand, 52, the original drummer for the Turtles, who cradled a $2.40 cup of Starbucks coffee.

``This particular Starbucks is unique, there's something going on here,'' he said from his Sherman Oaks perch. ``You can meet everybody from Brooke Shields to a guy pushing a shopping cart down the street. I've gotten parts in movies and TV, I've become a contestant in a game show, gigs as a drummer.''

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1) Mark Allen, Terry Hand and Ron Shirvani, from left, converse and drink coffee at Starbucks in Sherman Oaks. Even as the price of raw coffee beans has fallen to 25-year lows, prices at their favorite cafe haven't dipped a cent.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer

(2) Despite lower coffee bean costs, the price for a cup at a cafe is unchanged, and many stores have only slightly lowered the price of ground coffee.

(3) At coffee shops like Cafe Madrid in Canoga Park, the cost of beans - at 25-year-low prices - has little to do with the price of a cup of coffee.

(4) no caption (cup of coffee)

David Sprague/Staff Photographer