At Drive Research, we love market research. We know, we know -- shocking.
But we also love coffee, almost as much.
So we decided to combine our two favorite things: coffee and statistics.
Last month, we ran a national survey to gather fresh data on the coffee drinking habits of over 1,500 Americans.
As coffee lovers, we know everyone likes their favorite caffeinated drink prepared or brewed differently–and they’re often passionate about their order.
Below are some key takeaways from our 2022 coffee survey:
- 3 in 4 Americans drink coffee every day
- 49% of people drink 3 to 5 cups of coffee a day
- 1 in 2 consumers Americans most prefer medium roast coffee
- 68% of Americans don’t drink decaf or decaffeinated coffee
- 38% of Americans prefer their coffee unsweetened, while 49% use sugar
- 41% of people enjoy or prefer black coffee
- 68% of Americans make coffee at home every day
- 32% of consumers purchase coffee from a coffee shop 1 to 3 days a week
- A majority order shot-flavored lattes at a coffee shop
- 56% of Americans at least somewhat agree that drinking coffee benefits their health
- 39% of Americans enjoy Starbucks coffee the most
Here's our animated infographic for more quick hits.
87% of Americans consider themselves somewhat or full-on coffee-obsessed.
Cool, but didn’t we kind of see that coming?
With chain and independent coffee shops everywhere you go, we already assumed *most* Americans are more than occasional coffee drinkers.
The survey also found that 11% of Americans were just "eh" about coffee. Ouch. When you love coffee so much, that's hard to hear.
But wait, it gets worse.
We found that 2% of those surveyed either didn't like or hated coffee. The nerve!
In our next sections, we’ll dive even deeper into the coffee drinking habits of Americans.
💡 The Key Takeaway: Our survey found that 87% of our respondents were big coffee fans. Only 2% responded as not liking or hating it.
74% of Americans drink coffee every day.
That's what we like to see.
Our caffeine-loving online survey company discovered that nearly 1 in 4 of those surveyed drink coffee on a daily basis.
Additionally, our survey also showed that a whopping 85% of retirees enjoy coffee every day.
This is how often the rest of our respondents drink coffee:
- Most days (18%)
- Sometimes (8%)
💡 The Key Takeaway: Most of our respondents enjoy drinking coffee daily. 18% drink it most days, and 8% drink coffee occasionally.
3 to 5 cups of coffee daily is the most common choice for Americans.
48% of coffee drinks limit their coffee intake to 3 to 5 cups daily.
Then, we have our hardcore coffee fans--we saw that 3% of those surveyed drink 8 or more cups a day. That's dedication.
Other findings included that Americans:
- 40% of consumers drink 2 cups of coffee a day
- 9% of consumers drink 6 to 8 cups of coffee a day
💡 The Key Takeaway: Up to 49% of respondents are drinking coffee every day at 3 to 5 cups, while a small (but brave) percentage can handle 8 or more cups daily.
49% of Americans prefer medium roast coffee.
Medium roast stole the show, with it being the top roast at 49% of survey respondents.
Here's how the other roasts ranked:
- Dark roast (28%)
- Light roast (12%)
- No roast preference (11%)
💡 The Key Takeaway: Medium roast coffee was the most loved by our respondents, while light roast was the least popular.
68% of Americans don’t drink decaf.
They like the real deal (so do we).
But that's not to say that decaf is disliked by all--our survey also found that 32% of Americans drink decaf coffee.
As for when they start drinking it?
17% of coffee drinkers switch to decaf between 12 PM and 4 PM.
Other popular times people switch to decaf coffee included:
- 4 PM and 7 PM (16%)
- Before noon (12%)
- 7 PM to 10 PM (12%)
Whereas 18% of respondents only drink decaf.
💡 The Key Takeaway: The most popular time for those to drink decaf is between 12 PM and 4 PM.
38% of Americans prefer coffee unsweetened.
When asked how they like their beverage, 38% of people prefer to drink coffee without sweeteners.
8% of respondents like their coffee super sweet, while the rest fall somewhere in between these two options.
This is what the rest of the respondents prefer:
- Somewhat sweetened (28%)
- A little sweetener (22%)
- No sweetener used (4%)
As for what kind of sweetener is used, 49% of coffee consumers use normal sugar, whereas 34% of people prefer Stevia, or similar zero-calorie sweeteners.
Among the choices submitted for our "other" option was monk fruit--another naturally-derived, zero-calorie sweetener.
This is how the other sweeteners ranked among coffee drinkers:
- Honey (18%)
- Agave (9%)
- Maple syrup (7%)
- Unsure (2%)
We can't talk about sweeteners and not mention how many packets to use, right? According to our survey found, 36% of Americans use two packets of sugar or stevia in their coffee drinks.
Here's the rest of our consensus on how many packets Americans prefer to use:
- 1 packet (35%)
- 3 packets (16%)
- 4 packets (7%)
- 5 packets (3%)
- 6 packets (2%)
- 7 to 10 packets (1%)
💡 The Key Takeaway: Unsweetened coffee takes the cake, apparently (don't worry, we'll cover coffee cake in a bit). Classic sugar is the top choice for coffee sweeteners.
41% of Americans prefer their coffee black.
Even though over half of the respondents don't like black coffee, 41% go all in and enjoy it.
Everyone has different coffee drinking habits, but it’s safe to say that a majority need some form of creamer in their drink.
For those that don't like black coffee, 48% use generic creamers. Another popular addition was half and half, which is used by 39% of respondents.
Other choices included:
- 2% milk (18%)
- Light cream (16%)
- Almond milk (14%)
- Milk/creamer (11%)
- Oat milk (10%)
- Coconut milk (9%)
- Skim milk (9%)
- 1% milk (7%)
- Soy milk (5%)
💡 The Key Takeaway: Respondents prefer some kind of milk or creamer in their coffee. Top choices are generic creamers, half and half, and 2% milk.
Americans prefer both drip and Keurig cups equally.
We've got a tie, folks.
When it comes to brewing coffee, both drip and Keurig methods pulled through at 31% each for our respondents.
Other choices submitted by respondents included using a percolator, Aeropress, and espresso machines.
The rest of those surveyed prefer to brew their coffee:
- Ground (23%)
- Instant (6%)
- French press (4%)
- Another way (4%)
- Whipped (1%)
💡 The Key Takeaway: According to our survey, Americans prefer brewing coffee via drip methods and with a Keurig.
2 in 3 Americans make coffee at home every day.
68% of American coffee drinkers make coffee at home on a daily basis, with 15% making it at home 1 to 3 days a week.
Here's how often the rest of them make it:
- 4 to 6 days a week (12%)
- Less than once a week (3%)
- Never (2%)
Let's dive into how much Americans are spending per month when they make coffee at home.
31% of our respondents will spend $11 to $20 a month on coffee to make at home, while 11% will spend over $40 a month (they're not joking around).
Of those who spend up to $40 a month were college students at only 6%, and new parents at 36%.
Other at-home coffee drinkers spent:
- $21 to $30 (25%)
- $31 to $40 (15%)
- Less than $10 (13%)
- Unsure (5%)
💡 The Key Takeaway: We found that 68% of Americans make coffee at home daily, and 31% will spend $11 to $20 per month doing so.
32% of Americans purchase coffee from a coffee shop 1 to 3 days a week.
Every town has its Central Perk, right? We sure hope so.
Our study found that 32% of Americans buy coffee from a cafe 1 to 3 times weekly, with 6% buying coffee from a cafe every day.
Of those who purchase coffee at a shop 1 to 3 times weekly were stay-at-home parents at 42%, and new parents at 50%.
The frequency of at which consumers purchase coffee from cafes included:
- Less than once a week (30%)
- Never (22%)
- 4 to 6 days a week (10%)
Now for the money part.
31% of Americans try to keep it low-cost and spend less than $10 monthly on coffee from cafes.
Other common amounts Americans spend at coffee shops each month included
- $11 to $20 (23%)
- $21 to $30 (16%)
- $40+ (14%)
- $31 to $40 (12%)
- Unsure (4%)
💡 The Key Takeaway: Our national market research company found that 32% of Americans will buy coffee from cafes up to 3 times a week.
38% of Americans order shot-flavored lattes at a coffee shop.
Sometimes, you just can't beat a classic.
38% of respondents in our national survey state a flavored latte as their go-to coffee order.
Second in line was the flat white at 32%, and just below that was filter coffee at 31%.
Other common types of coffee people enjoy include:
- Cold brew/cold drip coffee (30%)
- Cappuccino / Piccolo Latte (29%)
- Long Black / Americano (20%)
- Espresso (19%)
- Other (8%)
Submissions under "other" included macchiatos and mochas.
💡 The Key Takeaway: Lattes are the top choice for Americans when they order in a coffee shop.
56% of Americans strongly or somewhat agree that consuming coffee benefits their health.
Over half of those surveyed believe that drinking coffee has a positive impact on their health.
They're not wrong. A recent study found that those who drink 1.5 to 3.5 cups of coffee a day have a 30% decreased mortality rate.
Now we don't feel so bad for drinking it all the time.
We also found that 7% of Americans did not think it benefited their health, while 33% neither agreed nor disagreed and 4% were unsure.
💡 The Key Takeaway: Benefits of drinking coffee can even extend into our health–and over half of our respondents agree.
55% of Americans enjoy coffee cake.
Coffee drinking habits can extend beyond a beverage.
Over half of the respondents surveyed enjoy coffee cake. Great, now we're hungry.
Runner-ups included coffee ice cream at 48% and Irish coffee at 30%.
Additional coffee-based favorites were:
- 24% Coffee liqueur
- 14% Espresso martinis
- 10% Coffee soda
- 8% Affogato
- 4% Other coffee-themed dishes
💡 The Key Takeaway: Our PR survey company found that cake steals the show when it comes to coffee-based treats.
39% of Americans enjoy Starbucks coffee.
Fueling coffee drinking habits everywhere, Starbucks was our big winner here. After Starbucks, our respondents favored Folgers coffee at 35% and Dunkin at 30%.
Additional favorite coffee brands included:
- Green Mountain (21%)
- McCafé (17%)
- Peet’s (15%)
- Eight O’Clock (13%)
- Cafe Bustelo (11%)
- Tim Hortons (7%)
- La Colombe (5%)
Mentioned in the "other" category were Maxwell House and Costco brand coffee.
💡 The Key Takeaway: Our survey found that Starbucks was the most popular brand of coffee, closely followed by Folgers and Dunkin.
Recommended Reading: Most Popular Seasonal Coffee Brand by New York State DMAs
About the Survey
Survey Methodology
- Our survey received 1,592 responses.
- Fieldwork was conducted nationally with 18+ adults
- Fieldwork lasted from June 28th to July 8th, 2022
Respondent Profile (By Age)
- Baby boomers: 54%
- Generation X: 15%
- Millennials / Gen Z: 22%
Now get out and head over to your favorite coffee shop!
Drive Research is a full-service market research company based in New York. Well-versed in both local and national market research efforts, our team navigates a wide range of industries with ease.
Want to know more about all of our market research services? Get in touch with us through any of the ways listed below.
- Message us on our website
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Lark Allen
As a Content Marketing Specialist, Lark has a strong background and passion for creative, professional, and journalistic writing. She is also a self-proclaimed music freak and 90s enthusiast.
Learn more about Lark, here.
