Even by gender, coffee lovers differ. Women savor lattes while men prize a regular cup of Joe, preferably black. If they go for barista-made coffee, men want espresso. Whatever type, all coffee drinkers quaff, on average, just over two cups a day. And if buying at a coffee shop, coffee lovers will pay a lot for that java: about $3.28 a drink, up 30 cents in one year. These findings, from Zagat’s recently released third-annual coffee survey, are drawn from 1,486 respondents nationwide. The survey found consumption increases by age. Coffee lovers in their 20s drink on average 1.8 cups a day, versus those in their 30s (2), 40s (2.2), and 50s and 60s (2.4).
Other highlights: 48 percent of the participants buy coffee from a coffee shop, while 42 percent make their own at home or at work; 52 percent don’t add sweeteners (if a sweetener is used, raw sugar is preferred over granulated sugar and Splenda); respondents say the price of a cup of coffee is too high at $3.67 for regular coffee, and $5.07 for barista-prepared drinks.
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Zagat’s survey also found growing interest in the “flat white,” now available at Starbucks. Whether the beverage originated in Australia or New Zealand is up for debate. Australian actor Hugh Jackman, who is a co-owner of Laughing Man Coffee & Tea in New York, told Grub Street restaurant blog that flat white “is like a latte with a little less milk and more espresso.”
Fortunately for latte lovers, the flat white is finished with latte art. Zagat respondents resoundingly “love” latte art: 45 percent, up from 38 percent last year. Who doesn’t love an artistic swirl on the top of their cuppa?
To read the full report, go to www.zagat.com/coffee-trends.
PEGGY HERNANDEZ