According to a Reuters report today, fewer Americans consider themselves daily coffee-drinkers. It seems like more Americans are drinking what the report considers gourmet coffee (17% up from 14% in a 2007 survey) but overall those who consider themselves daily coffee-drinkers fell from 57% to 55%. The biggest gap was in the 18-to-24 year old group where consumption fell from 37% in 2007 down to 26% in 2008.
Click here to read the Reuters article
What do you think? Does this agree with your personal habits? Post a comment and let me know – as for me and mine? We are Starbucks addicts.
March 11, 2008 at 1:57 pm
I don’t drink coffee but my brother does. He started after having a third child. Now he just can’t make it without the caffeine. My wife also increased here coffee intake after baby #3. It’s only been 9 months but I’m still caffeine free. We’ll see how long that lasts.
Speaking of changes in drinking habits, I just finished listening to Microtrends by Mark Penn. He explained that France is experiencing a dramatic drop is wine consumption among French citizens. This is having a significant impact on their economy and society. Possible causes include shorter meal times, government crackdowns on drunk driving and concerns about health.
Penn’s book also discusses our national obsession with caffeine, usually in the form of coffee. However, he explains that energy drinks are growing in popularity. They may be replacing coffee for some people.
March 11, 2008 at 5:59 pm
I wondered about the insurgent popularity of energy drinks with the 18-24 year old crowd – perhaps that’s a contributing factor.
Personally, I have been drinking more “upscale” supermarket coffee such as Starbucks or Seattle’s Best. But the prices have gone up considerably in the past year. Last year at this time I would pay $6.00 to $6.99 for a pound of beans, now its anywhere from $7.49 to $8.99.
The reason popularly suggested for this is deforestation plus the cost of fuel to get the beans stateside.