Nation of Coffee Drinkers, Across Every Demographic

Thanksgiving may be all about turkey, but odds are that most people around the table will wash it down with a cup of coffee.  According to the latest National Coffee Drinking Trends (NCDT) market research study, 63 percent of adults age 25-39 report drinking coffee every day, an increase of five percent from 2012 and a sizable jump from 44 percent who reported drinking coffee daily during 2010.  The study also found that just over 83 percent of U.S. adults drink coffee, and those who drink coffee at least once per week grew slightly to 75 percent of the population.

Coffee drinkers outnumber tea drinkers in the U.S.: 183 million coffee drinkers to 173.5 million tea drinkers.

Young people are drinking more coffee than in recent years, according to the data compiled by the National Coffee Association:  41 percent of 18-24 year olds are drinking coffee each day —up from the 31 percent of this age group who said they had a daily cup of coffee during 2010. Overall daily consumption of coffee among those 60+ rose to 76 percent from 71 percent last year, and for those 40-59 to 69 percent from 65 percent in 2012.

Most adult coffee drinkers said their lifelong habit began during their teenage years. In fact, 54 percent said they began drinking coffee between 13 and 19.  Another 22 percent reported their coffee cravings started between the ages of 20 and 24. This means that 76 percent of adult coffee drinkers began drinking coffee by the time they were 24, the report pointed out.

Analysts indicate that U.S. Coffee consumption is expected to increase through 2015 at an average annual rate of 2.7 percent, while tea consumption is expected to increase through 2015 at an average annual rate of 3.1 percent, the organization reported.

In a breakdown of ethnic groups, the National Coffee Association data indicates that 76 percent of adult Hispanic-Americans said they drank coffee yesterday, 13 percentage points ahead of the total population. By comparison, 47 percent of African-Americans and 64 percent of Caucasian-Americans said they drank coffee yesterday.

With holiday gift giving now in full swing, the data regarding single-cup brewing systems is of note.  The data, from earlier this year, indicates that 13 percent of the U.S. population drank a coffee made in a single-cup brewer yesterday - up from just 4 percent in 2010.  That number is expected to climb when 2013 year-end numbers are compiled.

So-called “gourmet coffee” is also heating up. Nearly one third (31 percent) of the population say they drink gourmet coffee every day. At the same time, consumption of traditional coffee declined by seven percentage points to 49 percent.

NCA's National Coffee Drinking Trends (NCDT) study has been conducted annually by NCA since 1950. It is the longest available statistical series of consumer drinking patterns in the U.S. The study engaged a nationally representative sample of 2,840 people 18 and older.  The 2014 report is due to be issued early next year. The National Coffee Association of U.S.A, Inc. (NCA), established in 1911, is the leading trade organization for the coffee industry in the United States.

Worldwide consumption of coffee in calendar year 2012 was estimated at around 142 million bags by the International Coffee Organization, an increase of 2.1 percent from 2011.  The U.S. remains the largest consuming country, although consumption in non-traditional markets has increased 50 percent since 2003, according to the report issued in August.

Earlier this year, USA Today reported that a study published online in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings, indicated that men younger than 55 who drank more than 28 cups of coffee a week (four cups a day) were 56% more likely to have died from any cause. Women in that age range had a twofold greater risk of dying than other women. The study looked at 43,727 men and women ages 20-87 from 1971 to 2002.  However the publication also noted a 2012 study that found that coffee drinkers ages 50-71 had a lower risk of death than their peers who did not consume coffee. In that study, researchers from the National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, and AARP found that the more coffee consumed, the more a person's death risk declined.