NCA study shows overall coffee consumption jumped 5% this year.
A recent study by the National Coffee Association (NCA) found Hispanic-Americans are leading the way in growing coffee consumption in the U.S., while the number of adults under 40 who drink coffee on a daily basis has dropped, Reuters reported.
The National Coffee Drinking Trends 2013 market study found that of Hispanic-Americans surveyed, 76% had drunk coffee the previous day, a 13% increase from the previous year’s study. This compares with 47% of African-Americans and 64% of Caucasian-Americans who said they had consumed coffee the day before.
This was the second year that the study included ethnicity.
The survey showed that overall coffee consumption jumped 5% this year, with 83% of the U.S. adult population now drinking coffee within the past year. Daily consumption was flat at 63%.
Overall daily coffee consumption by adults aged 18-39 has dropped with 16% noting they had drunk an espresso-based coffee in the past day. That compared with 6% of those aged 60 and over.
Further breaking down the habits of younger consumers, the study showed of those aged 18 to 24, 41% said they drank coffee daily, down sharply from 50% in 2012. Meanwhile, those aged 25-39, dropped to 59% from 63%.
“In traditional coffee, we did see a decline,” said Mark DiDomenico, of market research firm Datassential, as he presented the study’s findings at the National Coffee Association USA convention in San Francisco on Friday.
“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,” the NCA stated in a release.
On the other hand, those aged 60 and above have upped their daily intake, with 76% of the respondents saying they drank coffee every day, versus 71% a year ago.
Young adults might also have a more discerning palate for coffee: those aged 18 to 24 greatly reduced their daily intake of non-gourmet traditional coffee, dropping to 17% from 27% last year, the study showed.
The study also showed that 13% of the U.S. population drank coffee made in a single-cup brewer the previous day, up from 10% in 2012. At the same time, perceptions of quality of single-cup systems remains low, though it has improved year-over-year. In 2013, 21% said they perceived the quality of the system to be excellent, up from 25% in 2012 and 15% in 2011, Reuters reported.
The NCA has been conducting this study annually since 1950. This year, the online study involved 2,840 adults who were selected from an online panel with ethnicities aligned proportionately with the U.S. population’s makeup. Data was collected in both English and Spanish between mid-January and mid-February 2013. The study has an error rate of plus or minus 2.5%.