83% of U.S. Adults Drink Coffee

SAN FRANCISCONo doubt about it, Americans love their coffee. According to the National Coffee Associations (NCA) National Coffee Drinking Trends (NCDT) market research study, coffee consumption rose 5% this year with 83% of the U.S. adults reporting they drink coffee. At the same time, daily consumption remained steady at 63%, while those who drink coffee at least once per week was up slightly to 75%.

Past-day coffee consumption among Hispanic-Americans again outpaced that of other Americans, further affirming data identified last year when NCA began tracking ethnic consumption. Seventy-six percent of adult Hispanic-Americans said they drank coffee yesterday, 13 percentage points ahead of the total population. By comparison, 47% of black Americans and 64% of Caucasians said they drank coffee yesterday.

Data reveal 13% of the U.S. population drank a coffee made in a single-cup brewer yesterday, up from just 4% in 2010. By contrast, past-day consumption of a coffee made in a drip coffee maker has dropped to 37% from 43% over the same period. Awareness of single-cup brewers reached 82%, up by 11 points from last year, while ownership has grown to 12% from 10% last year.

Consumption of gourmet coffee beverages remained strong and steady, with 31% of the population partaking each day. At the same time, consumption of traditional coffee was off by seven percentage points to 49% versus 56% in 2012.

Among Hispanics, past-day consumption of gourmet coffee beverages towered above that of other groups at 44% versus 30% for Caucasians and 25% among blacks. The differential carried through when gourmet coffee beverages were broken out into its components: for espresso-based beverages the corresponding breakout was 24% among Hispanics, 10% among Caucasians and 12% among blacks, while for gourmet varieties of traditional coffee, 23% among Hispanics, 20% among Caucasians and 13% among blacks.

Younger consumers also showed more affinity for espresso-based beverages, with 16% of those aged 18 to 39 years drinking them in the past day compared with just 6% of those over age 60. However, overall daily consumption of coffee by younger consumers appears to have dropped. Among those aged 18 to 24 years, daily overall coffee consumption fell to 41% from 50% last year, and for those aged 25 to 39 years to 59% from 63%. However, the 2013 figures are more consistent with levels in earlier years, suggesting that this year's decline indicates volatility in these segments rather than softening. Conversely, overall daily consumption of coffee among those over age 60 rose to 76% from 71% last year, and for those aged 40 to 59 years to 69% from 65% in 2012.

Interestingly, the 60-plus age group favors gourmet varieties of traditional coffee, with daily consumption up to 24% from 19% last year. For those aged 25 to 39, conversely, the corresponding figures dropped to 18% from 26% last year. For non-gourmet traditional coffee, daily consumption remained essentially steady for those 60-plus, but fell among those aged 18 to 24, moving from 27% to 17% this year.