Data from the 2008 NCA National Coffee Drinking Trends (NCDT) show that daily consumption of gourmet coffee beverages has jumped to an unprecedented high, with 17% of the overall adult population savoring espressos, lattes and other specialty coffees, up from 14% in 2007. Preliminary data also reveal that 47% of adults age 25-39 drink some type of coffee each day, again matching the decade-high set in 2006 and up three percentage points from 2007. These and other top-line data were previewed at NCA’s 97th annual convention earlier this month. The full report, based on a nationwide survey, will be published in late spring.

The NCDT is the only market research study of its kind, tracking American coffee consumption since 1950. When broken out by age, Americans growing preference for gourmet coffee is even more apparent. Nineteen percent of American adults ages 25-59 drink gourmet coffee on a daily basis. This encompasses a dramatic increase since 2007 of six percentage points in the 25-39 age group and four percentage points for those 40-59. Older Americans 60+ are sipping more gourmet coffee as well. Their consumption jumped four percentage points, overtaking a high set by that group in 2006. Gourmet coffee includes espresso-based beverages as well as those that consumers perceive as “gourmet” based on the wide variety of coffee options available in the marketplace.

Total Coffee Consumption Rebounds Among Adults In daily consumption, the percentage of adults ages 25-39 drinking any type of coffee rebounded to 47%, matching the high point of this decade, first attained in 2006. Daily consumption among adults in the 40-59 age group remained steady at the 61% high set in 2007. In the 60+ group, consumption eased to 71% from 2007’s decade-high 74%, but still sits well above the lows of 66% and 67% seen in 2001 and 2004, respectively. Despite showing remarkable gains of four to six percentage points each year since 2004, daily coffee consumption by 18-to-24-year-olds dropped for the first time this decade from a high of 37% in 2007 to 26% in 2008, the same level it had been at in 2005. “As we’ve seen in prior periods of economic softness, this age group is particularly hard hit, resulting in higher than average levels of unemployment,” said Mark DiDomenico, Director of Foodservice Insights with Sara Lee. “With their lower-than-average incomes, higher gas prices will also cause these consumers to forego discretionary spending on certain items, including the daily stop for coffee at their favorite food-service outlet.” Other Data In other data, 2008 overall consumption softened somewhat, returning to the 80% set in 2005 and just under the 82% highs of 2006 and 2007. Weekly consumption at 66% held ahead of 2005’s 64%, but declined slightly from 2006’s high of 68% and 2007’s 67%. Daily consumption also softened to 55% from 57% in 2007, but still far outstripped early-decade percentages that had dipped to as low as 49% in 2004.

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