Not only does coffee continue to widen its lead over soft drinks as America’s beverage of choice, but consumers appear to be shifting more heavily toward gourmet coffee options, according to the National Coffee Association’s (NCA) National Coffee Drinking Trends research study.
Daily consumption of gourmet coffee beverages is up to 34 percent of American adults, up from 31 percent in 2013, while daily non-gourmet coffee drinking is at 35 percent, down from 39 percent last year.
The study also revealed that espresso-based beverages accounted for the increase in gourmet coffee beverage consumption. Daily consumption of espresso-based beverages came in at 18 percent of American adults versus last year’s 13 percent, while gourmet coffee was flat at 19 percent. Gourmet coffee beverages consist of espresso-based beverages and regular coffee made with gourmet coffee beans.
American consumers continue to drink more coffee than soft drinks, with a gap that has widened over the last several years. Daily consumption of coffee came in at 61 percent of American adults, compared with 41 percent for soft drinks. While the widening gap stems from a decline in daily consumption of soft drinks, daily consumption of coffee remains strong and steady at 61 percent versus 63 percent last year, a move within the study’s margin of error, the NCA reported.
The study also indicates that those 25 to 39 years of age are the strongest consumers of gourmet coffee beverages, with 42 percent saying they consume daily, compared with about one-third among consumers aged 18 to 24 and those 40 to 59, and just one-quarter of those aged 60-plus.
Daily consumption of gourmet coffee beverages is also strongest among Hispanic-Americans, 48 percent of whom said they drink gourmet coffee beverages daily, compared with 42 percent of Asian-Americans, 32 percent of Caucasian-Americans and 23 percent of African-Americans.
American consumers are also shifting brew methods. The percentage of past-day coffee drinkers who prepared their coffee with a single-cup brewer grew to 29 percent from 20 percent in 2013. The proportion of those who used a drip coffee maker declined to 53 percent from 58 percent last year.
Fifteen percent of Americans said their households have single-cup brewers, up from 12 percent in 2013 and 10 percent in 2012. Among those who do not currently own a single-cup brewer, 25 percent said they are very or somewhat likely to buy one in the next six months, compared with 17 percent who said so last year.
