US coffee drinkers choose taste over convenience

The American passion for brewed coffee is on the wane, according to a recent Harris Poll. But that’s not to say that Americans’ love affair with the caffeinated gold is over, just that it has taken a turn up market. Results of the poll of 2,496 U.S. adults found that taste is the top factor in determining where coffee/tea buyers purchase their beverages, and that Americans are willing to go out of their way for their favourite cup. Three in five coffee/tea buyers (60 per cent) said the coffee shop they most frequently visit is their favourite, chosen over a more convenient shop (40 per cent), and this number rises to two-thirds (66 per cent) of those ages 18 to 35. Having grown up during the coffee shop boom, younger Americans are leading the charge as the most likely to ever purchase prepared coffee or tea drinks. While Americans may love their lattes to go, the convenience of single serve home brewing has been gaining in popularity. One-third of Americans (33 per cent) say they have a single cup brewing system at home and/or work. Among adults with a single cup maker, 70 per cent say they have consciously chosen to use it instead of buying a drink at a coffee shop.