Coffee is a drink that is thoroughly enjoyed throughout the world, but what are the biggest coffee drinker demographics? Read on to find out and much more…
Even though coffee is grown closer to the equator, it is exported to just about every corner of the planet. People drink coffee to wake themselves up in the morning, to socialize, and for a variety of health benefits.
If you are anything like me, you love to drink coffee. Whether you are going to a local coffee shop, such as Starbucks, or making espresso in the comfort of your home, it is difficult to get on with your day without a morning cup of coffee.
As you wait for your cup of joe to brew, you might be wondering what the worldwide coffee market actually looks like. You might also wonder what are the coffee statistics on the amount of coffee people drink from country to country, and what age groups enjoy a hot cup of java the most.
Coffee Production Demographics
Coffee requires warm conditions to grow properly. Therefore, coffee is grown in the equatorial regions of the world. This includes places like Brazil, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
There are multiple varieties of coffee plants, with two of the most popular being Arabica and Robusta. That’s why when you go to your local grocery store or coffee shop, those will be the two most prominent beans available.
According to the International Coffee Organization (ICO), coffee production is expected to rise, with global production exceeding 170 million bags of coffee year-on-year. That’s a lot of coffee, but it is one of the items that is enjoyed in virtually every region on the planet.
The coffee market has exploded even further in recent years, with gourmet coffee houses now a regular feature in most US cities and towns. Especially coffee is now part of our everyday lives here in the USA, with many areas embracing coffee as part of their own culture. Thus, it’s unsurprising to see that the United States is the country with the highest coffee market revenue, while Statista shows that Brazil is the country that harvests and sells the most coffee worldwide.
In 2021 South American country exports over $6bn worth of the stuff. In the same year, the USA imported over $6bn of coffee. That’s a lot of pounds of coffee being transported to and from different countries, and those truly amazing statistics demonstrate the global nature of the coffee industry.
Coffee Drinker Demographics: 15 Interesting Facts
How we drink coffee has changed over the years, with the industry growing from strength to strength in virtually every corner of the globe. Because of this, it is unsurprising that there is an abundance of interesting statistics about the demographics, trends, and markets associated with the drink.
Below we have brought a list of 15 of our favorite facts concerning the coffee industry. While some of them touch on demographic, others just detail how many of us would struggle to get by without the drink.
1. Per Capita USA Isn’t The Biggest Coffee Consumer
It’s true that Americans love their coffee, but the good ol’ USA doesn’t top the list for coffee consumers on a worldwide level. Instead, it’s the North European country of Finland that has that honor.
Per capita, the Scandinavian country blows all other coffee-drinking nations aside, with each person drinking around eight cups per day. It’s a country that experiences very dark and cold periods throughout the year, so it’s unsurprising to see its citizens relying on coffee beans for their daily pick-me-up.
When it comes to the world’s coffee drinkers, nobody outdoes the Finnish. At a per capita level, the USA is actually way down the list in 22nd. In fact, the top five coffee drinkers per capita are all based in Europe.
Norway is second, while the Netherlands is third, Slovenia is fourth, and Austria is fifth.
2. The Average American Consumes At LEAST Three Cups Per Day
Despite not being that high on the list of coffee drinkers, Americans do still consume quite a bit of coffee. At an anecdotical level, this is obvious as when you walk into the average US home, you’ll see some sort of coffee, be it instant coffee, a drip coffee maker, or an espresso machine.
The average American coffee drinker enjoys at least three cups of coffee per day. Although these numbers might seem on the high side, the FDA states you can enjoy about four cups, so it’s still below expert recommendations.
The next time you are about to pour your fourth cup of regular coffee and someone asks you if that’s a good idea, you can tell them it’s FDA-approved (well, sort of…). Of course, drinking habits differ from person to person, and if you suffer from any negative side effects, you should stop immediately.
3. Amsterdam Is The Most Coffee Obsessed Capital In The World
Amsterdam is the most coffee-obsessed capital city in the world, according to research. The affinity for coffee shops in the Dutch capital is well known, with many of these stores offering much more than just coffee. Coffee shops are a real part of the socializing culture within the city.
This research was done by calculating a score for each capital city based on a mix of the number of coffee shops per 100,000 population, the quality of the coffee they serve, and the value of coffee imported per capita. The complex scoring system gave us some interesting results.
Dublin is second on the list, while Bern in Switzerland is third. Washington DC came in at the 18th. The US capital has 138 coffee shops per 100,000 people.
4. Iced Coffee Is For Younger Coffee Lovers
According to research done by YouGov America, younger coffee drinkers are more likely to enjoy iced coffee and cold brews than their older counterparts. Their research showed that 45 percent of 18-29 year-olds said they loved iced coffees, while only 22 percent of those over 45 years old felt the same.
It is unsurprising to see this increase in cold coffee aficionados, as the drink has become much more popular within coffee shops in recent years. Before that, the average American coffee drinker would have only had the option of hot coffee. Despite iced coffee being linked back to the 19th century, it has only grown in popularity over the last couple of decades.
5. We Are Drinking Coffee Younger
Research has also shown that over one-third (36%) of Americans didn’t start drinking coffee regularly until after their 21st birthday. Although, it also revealed that people are now starting to enjoy the drink at a much younger age, with almost half (47% of those now aged 18-29 starting to drink coffee at 16 or younger).
With themed drinks and cold brews becoming popular with the younger generation, this trend in what age Americans drink coffee from is likely to continue. Especially as the branding and marketing departments of big organizations realize that there is a new market that hasn’t been completely tapped yet.
Walk into your average Starbucks, and you will see that a high number of coffee consumers in the Seattle-founded establishment are younger than 21. You don’t need coffee consumption statistics to notice that it’s a drink being enjoyed by most age groups now and this is something we don’t see changing any time soon.
6. But Older People Are Drinking More
Although statistics have shown that U.S. coffee consumption is being fuelled by drinkers starting at a younger age, seniors are still drinking more of the beverage than those younger cohorts. This just shows that coffee is a drink that accompanies most people throughout the various stages of our lives.
Somewhat surprisingly, seniors are out-drinking virtually all generations (even the millennials who grew up watching all their favorite coffee house-based sitcoms – who didn’t want their very own Central Perk).
In fact, about half of all 18-24-year-olds drink coffee, while almost 70 percent of seniors enjoy the drink in the US. Not only that but amongst those seniors, but there is around three times the amount of Java being consumed by those older coffee drinkers.
7. 31% Of Coffee Drinkers Experience Withdrawals
The YouGov research on coffee also revealed that quite a large percentage of those who enjoy coffee experience some negative side effects. It revealed that 31 percent of their respondents experience withdrawal issues when they stop drinking their regular cup of joe.
The most common issues include headaches, fatigue, and irritability. The younger the person started drinking coffee, the more likely they were to experience these negative issues. Of course, you should be careful with the amount of coffee you consume and if you are going to cut it out, you should do so carefully as ‘cold turkey’ doesn’t work well for everyone.
Decaf is a great option, but it’s also worth noting that if you have a caffeine allergy, that deaf does actually contain caffeine.
8. Only 20% Of Americans Prefer Coffee Black
When shown pictures of cups of coffee and told to pick their ideal brew, only 20 percent of respondents chose the cup of black coffee. Brown, golden, or cream-colored brews were far more popular.
It seems that Americans prefer to add a little dairy or creamer to their cup of regular coffee instead of enjoying it black. Although it has to be said that black coffee is an acquired taste, so maybe more of these people will choose it as they go further into their coffee-drinking journey.
In terms of statistics presented within this article, this is one we reckon would be very different from 20 or 30 years ago. Black coffee seemed to be much more popular in the past, but as the number of options readily available increased, it’s somewhat gone out of fashion.
9. Almost 40% Of Americans Prefer Unsweetened Coffee
We know that one out of every five Americans prefers black coffee over all other types, but further research has shown that almost double that amount don’t like to add sweetener to their brew.
According to a national survey done by Drive Research, 38 percent prefer their coffee without any added sweetener. That’s definitely a good thing, as if you can drink it without sweetener, then you probably should as plain coffee is much better for your health.
However, it should be noted that eight percent of respondents love it ‘super sweet’, while 28 percent go for ‘somewhat sweetened’. Normal sugar is listed as the most popular sweetener, but Stevia and other low-calorie options are growing in popularity.
Of course, these statistics don’t take into account the number of coffee beverages that are made with sweeteners. There are a lot of themed drinks available within coffee shops, particularly around Halloween and the festive period, that contain a huge amount of sugar.
10. 50% Of Coffee Drinkers Would Skip A Shower Over Morning Cup
According to a recent study, 50 percent of coffee drinkers would prefer to skip a shower than their morning cup of joe. Meanwhile, almost the same number would go without their cellphone for a month if the choice was between that and coffee.
Both of those are incredible statistics, but just go to show how important coffee is in people’s lives. In fact, if ever you needed proof of the dedication of the coffee-drinking demographic, then that’s it right there. We wonder what else people would sacrifice to keep that magic brew in their coffee cups… and we’re not sure we want to know the answer!
11. The UK Loves Coffee Too
Research from the Centre of Economic and Business Research in the UK has shown that there are over 95 million cups of coffee consumed in the country each and every day. Thus, if any of you were under the impression that British people only drink tea, then you’re completely wrong. They also love their cups of coffee.
And their coffee consumption is growing, with that number of 95 million cups up by 25 million when compared to the late 00s. We can’t wait to see what the number rises to over the next number of years – although it must be said, that they still prefer their traditional cups of tea.
12. Specialty Coffee Is Growing In Popularity
Coffee industry statistics have shown that specialty coffee is growing at an incredibly quick level. This is hardly surprising when you consider how many gourmet options are now available compared to ten years ago.
Of course, traditional coffee still represents a much larger share of the market, but specialty has become a valued part of the industry. According to a National Coffee Data Trends (NCDT) report, the National Coffee Association found that past-day consumption of specialty coffee in the US in 2022 was the highest on record.
Daniel Velásquez Restrepo, Director of Operations at a green coffee trader in Colombia, discussed its growth with the coffee publication Perfect Daily Grind. He said: “In terms of numbers, the growth rate of the specialty coffee market is faster than the growth of commodity-grade coffee.”
13. A third of Americans visit a coffee shop 1 to 3 days a week
Americans love their coffee shops; they offer you the chance to relax in an ambiance that you don’t have at home, and all the different types of coffee that are available makes for a lovely variation to the instant coffee you’re probably making in your own kitchen.
Americans’ affinity for coffee shops is demonstrated by research that shows that 32 percent of the population buy coffee from a cafe 1 to 3 times weekly. A visit to the local coffee shop is a big part of many people’s routines.
Meanwhile, 6% buy coffee from a cafe every day, with almost a quarter (23%) of respondents saying they spend between $11 to $20 in coffee shops each month. With the average cup of coffee now costing $4.90, this works out to about four cups of average-price coffee monthly. Of course, there are others who spend far more and far less.
14. Most Americans Are Coffee Obsessed
Amazingly, 87 percent of respondents to a Drive Research survey said they were coffee obsessed – that they had a love for the drink. Meanwhile, 11 percent said they were just ‘eh’ about coffee, while the remaining two percent either didn’t like the drink or hated it (no, we can’t explain those people either!).
If ever you needed proof that Americans love their coffee, then there you are – those numbers should do the job. To be fair, though, all you have to do is look through the average American mall to see how much this country is enamored by the drink in all its forms… we wonder what the statistics for ‘coffee obsession’ would be if the survey was done in Finland.
15. Medium Roast Is America’s Choice
Since Americans love their coffee so much, it makes sense that they would also have a preference for which roast they prefer. And indeed, they do, as research has shown that 49 percent of Americans prefer a medium roast, while the dark roast is the choice of 28 percent, and the light roast gets the nod from 12 percent of people.
Of course, there are always going to be a certain amount of easy-going people who don’t mind either way. In this instance, it’s 11 percent of people have no preference for roast or blends.
What Are The Health Benefits Of Coffee?
After all of those statistics, you might be wondering whether or not coffee is actually good for you. Thankfully, there are a number of health benefits to the popular beverage. Some of the top health benefits of coffee include:
- Of course, coffee can wake you up in the morning. Medical studies have shown that coffee can increase your energy levels because of its caffeine content. Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors in the brain, preventing you from feeling tired. Of course, this could also lead to a crash when your body breaks down coffee’s caffeine.
- Coffee can also help you lose weight. Studies have shown that caffeine can increase your body’s metabolism, helping you burn calories faster.
- Finally, caffeine can also help you improve your physical performance. By increasing levels of adrenaline, coffee can prepare you for physical exertion.
These are just a few of the many benefits of drinking coffee. On the other hand, you also have to watch out for caffeine withdrawal, which can happen if you develop a dependence on caffeine. Monitor your caffeine intake to prevent caffeine dependence.
If you drink coffee regularly, you should monitor your caffeine intake. If you develop symptoms of caffeine withdrawal, you know you have developed a caffeine dependence. Some of the symptoms of caffeine withdrawal include headaches, irritability, digestive problems, shaking, and sweating.
So, it’s a delicious popular drink, but one that also deserves your respect.
