Americans are still jonesing for java
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Whether brewing it at home or grabbing it on the go, Americans remain committed to their daily cup of joe, both hot and cold. Despite rising prices, coffee remains at the top of Americans’ beverage choices, even closing the gap with bottled water! According to a new report from the National Coffee Association (NCA), more American adults (66%) drink coffee each day than any other beverage, aside from bottled water (69% percent).
The NCA’s Fall 2025 National Coffee Data Trends (NCDT) report found that overall coffee’s popularity has held steady since 2022, with bottled water typically taking the top spot only in the summer months. Cold/iced and frozen blended coffee also experienced a summer popularity bump, accounting for 31% of all coffee consumed in the June survey, which is up from 23% in Spring 2025 NCDT report.
The NCA further reported that 85% of past-day coffee drinkers (aged 18+) had coffee at breakfast followed by 34% in the morning; 22% in the afternoon; 19% at lunch; 9% at dinner; and 11% of past-day coffee drinkers had coffee in the evening.
Per the Fall NCDT report, 82% of past-day coffee consumers drank coffee at home and 36% drank coffee on-the-go. American coffee drinkers consume an average of nearly three cups per day.
Specialty coffee continues to rise in popularity, consumed by a record 48% of American adults in the past day compared with 37% in 2021. Traditional coffee is consumed by 41% of American adults each day versus 38% in 2021.
Ready-to-drink coffee remains a strong growth category with 19% of past-day coffee drinkers having RTD coffee, up from 9% in 2021. Even consumption of instant coffee has grown with 11% of past-day coffee drinkers having instant coffee versus 6% in 2021.
Brewing methods have remained relatively consistent, with drip brewers still the most popular preparation method (38% of past-day coffee drinkers had coffee prepared with a drip brewer), followed by single cup brewers (23%), cold brewing (17%), and espresso machines (11%).
Grocery stores are the leading places to purchase coffee for at-home preparation. The Fall NCDT report revealed that 40% of past-day coffee drinkers who made coffee at home bought their coffee at a grocery store, 29% purchased their coffee in a mass merchandiser (also known as mass retailers or “big-box” stores), and 14% bought their coffee online. These figures have remained consistent over the past year.
Furthering Americans’ on-the-go and convenience mentality regarding coffee purchases, app-based and drive-through purchasing have reached record highs. Per the NCDT report, 59% – an all-time high – of coffee drinkers who bought a coffee out-of-home in the past week purchased it at a drive-through — up 9% from 2024. Mobile orderings continue to grow with 36% of coffee drinks ordering through an app, a rise of almost 6% over 2024.
Commenting on the results, NCA president and CEO Bill Murray, said, “Coffee’s staying power as a beloved touchstone in Americans’ daily lives is remarkable, and its contributions to our health and our economy give Americans even more ‘grounds for celebration’ this National Coffee Day and every day.”
The NCA’s Fall 2025 NCDT report was conducted by Dig Insights and is being released in advance of National Coffee Day on September 29th. The NCA will also mark National Coffee Day by hosting a celebratory event on Capitol Hill in conjunction with the bipartisan Congressional Coffee Caucus.
