Coffee is insanely popular. This much is known basically the world over; it’s called “the world’s most popular beverage” for a reason. And coffee’s popularity is increasing. It’s something the National Coffee Association regularly tracks and reports on as part of their National Coffee Data Trends report (NCDT). And the latest installation finds the coffee is the most popular beverage, more popular than water, and frankly I’m a little concerned for everyone’s health.
The NCDT is a bi-annual report the NCA has been publishing since 1950, making it the longest running study on American coffee consumption habits. For the spring report, data on 1,850 Americans ages 18 and up was collected between January 5th and 20th concerning the participants’ coffee habits.
When asked about the past day’s beverage consumption, they found that 66% of all participants had coffee, more than the 64% who said they had bottled water. Tea, soda, and juice sat at 47%, 46%, and 26%, respectively.
Of the past-day coffee drinkers, 85% said they drank coffee at home, which is the highest percentage since 2012, further supporting the idea making coffee at home has becoming increasingly popular. 36% stated they consume coffee outside of the home.
In terms of the coffee consumed, when looking at those who drank coffee in the past week, 62% said they had “traditional” coffee, understood here to mean not specialty. Specialty coffee meanwhile clocked in at 58% for the same group.
“Coffee has long been a touchstone in Americans’ daily lives and a powerhouse in our economy, adapting to fit different tastes, trends, budgets, and routines over time,” NCA President and CEO Bill Murray says in the press release. “We expect that to continue for many decades to come.”
Thus coffee maintains its position from the 2025 NCDT report as more frequently consumed than water, to which I say cool, but also, you should be drinking more water. I’m worried about you. We all love coffee but you need to stay hydrated.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
