The latest detailed coffee consumption survey confirms trends many industry observers already suspected. And gives intriguing insights into the psyche of today’s Java fan. Not surprisingly, coffee remains America’s fave ‘hot’ beverage…
The US National Coffee Association (NCAUSA) commissioned a detailed survey to mark National Coffee Day. And the results range from affirming to surprising…
Simple questions…
The survey started simply by asking folks what beverages they had consumed in the past day. They were asked to ‘check all that apply’. So, percentages of some comparisons in this post may (and often do) add up to more than 100. The straight-up results held a few surprises…
- Bottled water – 65 percent
- Coffee – 63 percent
- Tap water – 51 percent
- Tea – 45 percent
- Soft Drinks / Soda – 44 percent
- Juice – 26 percent
I was surprised both to see bottled water in first place, and tap water in third place. I may be stodgy and old-school. But I expected to see tap water out front, followed by either bottled water or coffee. I wonder if the predominance of bottled water in the survey reflects a declining confidence among US consumers in the quality of their tap water?
I was also surprised, at first, to see tea as high on the list as it is. But I’m not an American. And I momentarily forgot how popular ‘sweet’ tea is in the Deep South and other warmer regions of the lower 49.
Given that fizzy drinks are the universal kids’ favourite, and are marketed massively by the Fast Food sector, I expected soda / soft drinks would show up as more popular, overall, than tea…
Reasons folks love coffee
- Wakes them up and gets them going – 77 percent
- Helps them get things done – 67 percent
- Improves mental focus – 66 percent
- Trendy beverage to drink – 63 percent
- Good for their health – 51 percent
Although I’ve been posting a lot about the recently-discovered benefits of coffee consumption in car-dio, gut microbiome and cognitive health, I was surprised to see to many average folks tuned-in to the ‘health’ angle.
Overall…
A survey finding many news outlets are seizing upon is that away-from-home coffee consumption has returned to pre-COVID levels, as defined by the figures for February, 2020, at 36 percent of total con-sumption. In-home coffee drinking was way ahead, at 81 percent. Makes sense. It may be inferred that the vast majority of Americans still start their day with a ‘cuppa Java’ at home…
“There’s no better way to celebrate National Coffee Day than with the great news that coffee remains America’s favorite beverage other than bottled water, and that […] Americans are familiar with cof-fee’s unique health benefits,” NCAUSA President and CEO William Murray said, in a statement.
My take
Nevertheless… One of my long-held beliefs was borne out: Folks drink coffee less because it’s a pleasure, and more because it’s an effective stimulant!
~ Maggie J.