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he latest research from the National Coffee Association (NCA) shows that coffee drinker preferences are continuing a shift towards gourmet coffee. In 2013, the NCA's National Coffee Drinking Trends (NCDT) market research study found that 31 percent of American adults consumed gourmet coffee beverages daily. That rose to 34 percent in 2014's report. Meanwhile, the daily non-gourmet cof- fee consumption dropped to 35 percent from last year's 39 percent. Gourmet coffee beverages consist of espresso-based beverages and regu- lar coffee made with gourmet coffee beans. The actual daily consumption of espresso-based beverages increased in 2014, accounting for the increase in gourmet coffee beverage consumption revealed in the NCDT. Consumers aged 25 to 39 are the strongest consumers of gourmet cof- fee beverages with 42 percent say- ing they consume it daily. Daily consumption of gourmet coffee beverages is also strongest among His- panic-Americans (48 percent), followed by Asian-Americans (42 percent). Americans drink more coffee than they drink soda U.S. consumers continue to drink more coffee than soft drinks, with a gap that has widened over the last several years, reports the NCA. Daily consumption of coffee came in at 61 percent of American adults, compared with soft drinks' 41 percent. While the widening gap stems from a decline in daily consumption of soft drinks, daily consumption of coffee remains strong but steady with a drop of only 2 percent, a move within the NCDT's reported margin of error. Single-cup still increasing The trend of single-cup coffee has not ceased. The NCDT found that the per- centage of coffee drinkers who prepared their coffee with a single-cup brewer the day before grew 9 percent to 29 percent from 20 percent in 2013. Those who used a drip coffee maker declined 5 percent to 53 percent from 58 percent. The percent of Americans who have a single-cup brewer at home is 15 percent this year, up from 12 per- cent in 2013 and 10 percent in 2012. A quarter of respondents reported being very or somewhat likely to buy one in the next six months. T Consumers still want gourmet coffee By Emily Refermat, Editor In 2014, espresso and specialty coffee beans are preferred by more than a third of U.S. coffee drinkers. 34% of American adults consume gourmet coffee daily 18% consume espresso-based beverages daily 61% consume coffee daily 42% of 25 to 39 year-olds consume gourmet coffee daily Daily consumption of gourmet coffee beverages: 48 percent of Hispanic-Americans 42 percent of Asian-Americans 32 percent of Caucasian-Americans 23 percent of African-Americans Source: National Coffee Association (NCA) National Coffee Drinking Trends (NCDT) 2014 market research study O C S U P D A T E S P O N S O R E D B Y autm_12-13_0514OCSUpdate_F.indd 12 5/6/14 10:32 AM