Four Coffee Trends for 2017

Thursday, 25 May 2017 16:33

While coffee and office coffee services have been around for quite a while, the way coffee is brewed, created, and marketed continues to change over time. Whereas traditional drip coffee was brewed at home, current consumer taste preferences have shifted the coffee market to create new coffee products, like cold and nitro brews, espresso drinks, and canned and bottled beverages. Here are the top three coffee trends of 2017.

Cold Brew Coffee

Cold brew coffee sales have skyrocketed over the past few years, and the trend has continued in 2017. Between 2011 and 2016, sales of the popular coffee drink grew by 580% , according to a Mintel report. Cold brew is different from iced coffee in that it is more labor intensive to produce, and typically boasts more flavor and less acidity. Instead of using heat to heat coffee beans, like a traditional coffee brew, cold brew coffee is brewed using time, by allowing the beans to soak in water for more than 12 hours in order to turn water into coffee.

Nitro Coffee

Though it was first introduced years ago in New York, Nitro coffee is big this year. This coffee comes in a keg, is pressurized, and poured from a tap. Nitrogen is added to the brew which gives it a creamier texture and a slightly different flavor profile. Even with its creamy,silkier mouth feel, Nitro is strong coffee. As it has gained popularity, nitro coffee is popping up in coffee shops around the country. (You don't have to wait for it to come to your local coffee shop, you can get Nitro coffee at your workplace with Redcup Beverage Service.)

Gourmet Coffee

Shoppers are putting the coffee’s taste and the coffee experience above price considerations, so the amount of gourmet and specialty coffee consumption is increasing. Gourmet coffee also called “specialty coffee,” includes standard gourmet coffees, drinks with espresso, nitro-brewed coffee, and iced or frozen beverages. Premium coffee comes with a premium price tag, but consumers have shown they’re willing to pay a higher price for a quality brew. According to a survey conducted by the Specialty Coffee Association of America, of the $48 billion U.S. retail coffee market, approximately 55% of money spent will go towards specialty coffee. Older Millennials, those between the ages of 25-39 are the most likely to consume espresso-based beverages , such as mochas, espresso, cold brew, and nitrogen infused coffees, according to NCDT data.

Ready-to-Drink Coffee

RTD coffee, or “ready-to-drink” coffee, is another popular coffee trend of 2017. Coffee products are keeping pace with consumers’ demand for getting their coffee fix quickly. The bottled and canned RTD coffee market climbed to $2.4 billion in 2015 and is continuing to increase. Karen Bundy, V.P. of Food & Beverage Marketing at Multi-sponsor Surveys attributed this to the rapid decline of soft drink’s popularity in the U.S. and overseas. “It is probably not a coincidence that canned or bottled ready-to-drink cold coffee is catching on at a time when fewer are drinking carbonated soft drinks, including the caffeinated colas.” The trend has recently encouraged some of the most prominent members in the coffee industry to enter the RTD arena. Dunkin’ Donuts announced a partnership with Coca-Cola that would introduce a line of ready-to-drink coffees to rival those of Starbucks.

Want ready-to-drink coffee stocked in your work refrigerator? Redcup Beverage Service can provide RTD coffees and many other office beverage solutions. Never be without coffee. Get in touch with us to schedule a coffee tasting at your workplace.