Gen Z is Transforming Coffee Drinking in the US
For many Americans, their morning cup of coffee is hot, and black or light and sweet with the addition of creamer and sweetener. And while specialty coffee cafes and other trends have enticed people with flavors and specialty drinks, the basic drip coffee is still the norm, reported Fast Company.
But now a new coffee trend is changing the way America drinks coffee, and it is being driven by Gen Z. These younger coffee drinkers are enjoying their java cold, sweet, and with lots of creamer.
For many Gen Zers, the first cup of coffee in the morning is just as likely to be iced as hot and around 85 percent are adding creamers. Coffee companies are rolling out new products to keep up with this trend.
“We’ve done a lot of things in cold coffee the last two years to really meet this need of Gen Z and young millennials,” Daniel Jhung, president of Nestlé’s USA beverage division, told Fast Company. “That’s a big trend that we’re pushing into.”
Instants are a Big Hit
While instant coffee is far from new, it was actually invented in the UK in 1771, according to the Nationwide Coffee company. But it wasn’t commercially produced until the 20th century. Instant coffee has come a long way from a powdered “coffee compound” to freeze dried, and now to instant specialty drinks.
While instant still lags behind traditional drip and single cup brewers as the preferred way to make coffee at home, it is projected to be the fastest-growing method of home-made coffee for the next three years, reported Fast Company.
According to Jhung, instant coffee has “blown up” in the past few years and the Nescafé brand – owned by Nestlé – introduced Nescafé Ice Roast and Nescafé Gold to appeal to younger coffee drinkers. He said that consumers are buying instant coffee because it is a convenient way to consume craft offerings.
Combining Coffee and Creamers
Another growing trend is to combine coffee with creamers. According to Jhung, it made sense for Nestlé to unite them under one team. After all, he said, “What’s more Americana than peanut butter and jelly or milk and cereal? It’s actually coffee and creamer.”
That’s because coffee and creamer are purchased together 60 percent of the time. But supermarkets put coffee in one location and creamers in another. This is leading to the company’s planning on how to bring the two closer together.
Sustainability Rules
There are new trends in purchasing ethically sourced coffee, stressed the Martha Stewart platform. Besides fair trade, people are looking to buy coffee that is grown in an environmentally friendly way.
There has also been a rise in healthier brews. Blends that are infused with matcha, turmeric, and mushrooms are now available. Or you can skip the coffee and purchase one that is made entirely from mushrooms.
Brewing Espresso at Home
Café culture is also coming home for Gen Zers. According to Country&Town Home, it is so popular that sales of home espresso machines are forecasted to rise by 20 percent. This can be attributed to the rising costs of café-purchased lattes as well as the desire to replicate the café experience at home by brewing espresso and specialty beverages.
These coffee trends are reaching beyond Gen Zers and millennials due to the host of new products that are being produced. It may even reach boomers. Soon a cup of black coffee may be a thing of the past.
