It’s something of an understatement to say the US loves to drink coffee. For almost as long as the country has existed, US Americans have been consuming coffee – and the amount only continues to increase.

On 19 September, the National Coffee Association (NCA) published its autumn 2023 National Coffee Data Trends Report, which monitors the biggest evolving trends in US coffee consumption over the past seven decades. The report found that coffee remains US Americans’ “favourite” beverage – with 63% of those surveyed drinking coffee every day. 

Based on these findings, this makes coffee more popular than bottled water, tea, and tap water in the US. This also follows on from the spring 2023 NCDT report which stated more US Americans drank coffee in the previous day than any other beverage.

With the vast popularity of larger coffee chains like Starbucks, Dunkin’, and Peet’s in the US, it’s safe to assume these brands are the biggest drivers of coffee consumption. But what about the specialty coffee market?

Read on to learn more about the NCA’s latest NCDT report, as well as how specialty coffee is influencing consumers in the US.

You may also like our article on whether specialty coffee culture is dominated by the US.

Unpacking the new NCDT report

Since the early 20th century, coffee has been an integral part of US food and beverage culture. It was during the Great Depression that coffee became much more accessible to the masses when food banks handed out free coffee and doughnuts.

Fast forward to the 1970s and the second wave of coffee had begun to emerge in the US. Larger chains like Starbucks and Peet’s became pioneers in the industry – and even helped to define standards in the specialty coffee market decades later.

Given the country’s longstanding history of coffee consumption, it comes as no surprise that coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the US – as found by the NCA’s autumn 2023 NCDT report.

The association’s latest study found that nearly two-thirds of US Americans drank coffee the previous day. According to the data, the Midwest consumes the most of any region in the country, with 65% of people choosing coffee every day over other beverages, including:

• Bottled water (61%)
• Tea (45%)
• Tap water (45%)
• Soft drinks (41%)
• Juice (22%)

As expected, the study found the vast majority of US consumers (81%) drink coffee with their breakfast, with 19% also drinking coffee beverages in the afternoon.

Additionally, the NCDT report found that US Americans between the ages of 25 and 39 are more likely than any other age group in the country to drink coffee in the previous day, as well as to choose an espresso-based beverage in the past day.

According to NCA data, the most popular espresso-based drinks in the US are:

• Latte (18%)
• Espresso (16%) – which is especially impressive considering espresso culture is much more prominent in Europe
• Cappuccino (15%)
• Mocha (11%)

Is second wave coffee culture predominantly driving US coffee consumption?

As part of its latest NCDT report, the NCA found that 53% of consumers drank specialty coffee in the past week – a figure that has been steadily increasing over the past few years. For example, in the spring 2022 NCDT report, US specialty coffee consumption was the highest on record.

Furthermore, according to some market research groups, the North American specialty coffee market is expected to grow 20% year-on-year until 2030. This would make it one of the fastest-growing markets in the world.

However, it’s also hard to ignore the influence that second wave coffee culture has on US consumers. With almost 16,000 Starbucks locations in the country alone, larger chains are immensely popular among coffee drinkers.

Drive-thru and app-based pick-up services continue to play a key role in this. The 2023 spring NCDT report found that use of these services remained higher than pre-pandemic levels. For instance, around 59% of past-day coffee drinkers who purchased beverages from a coffee shop, convenience store, or service station used a drive-thru service. Compared to January 2020, this represents an 11% increase.

Similarly, 29% of people who consumed coffee the previous day used an app to order their beverages – amounting to a 5% increase on January 2020.

The autumn 2023 NCDT report also found that 30% of US Americans drank a flavoured coffee in the past week, including flavours like vanilla, caramel, hazelnut, and pumpkin spice.

Although specialty coffee shops can certainly offer pick up (or even drive-thru) services and serve flavoured drinks, we mostly associate these more with second wave coffee culture.

Could specialty coffee become more dominant in the US?

The US definitely has a thriving specialty coffee scene, especially in larger cities. But at the same time, it’s evident that second wave coffee is still heavily shaping consumer behaviour.

Younger generations, however, are helping to shift trends. The NCA’s latest report claims 65% of US Americans aged 25 to 39 drank specialty coffee in the past week, with 51% of 18 to 24-year olds doing the same.

The ever-growing popularity of cold and iced coffee beverages in the US also presents a gateway to drinking more specialty coffee. In this year’s autumn NCDT report, the NCA says iced coffee consumption rose by a staggering 64% since January 2023. 

So with the explosive growth of the ready-to-drink specialty coffee market in recent years, this could encourage more US Americans to start drinking more specialty coffee in a more accessible way.

Claiming coffee is more popular than water in the US is a bold statement. But given that the NCA has been tracking US Americans consumption behaviour since 1950, it’s by far the longest available statistical report series in the industry – so we should be inclined to trust the data.

However, it’s also important to question what exactly is driving coffee consumption in the US. With second wave coffee shops still playing a big role in US coffee culture, it will be interesting to see how specialty coffee continues to influence consumer behaviour.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on the history of the US coffee shop.

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