That’s right, by some opinions (mostly, mine) a cup-of-Joe is the most important motivating factor in American industry and commerce. Why? Because frankly, without our morning coffee, we wouldn’t even be able to find the office, yet alone be awake enough to get there on time. If it wasn’t for café, we’d probably have to cancel Monday, all together!
How popular is our favorite caffeinated beverage? According to the National Coffee Association, about 83% of U.S. adults drink coffee. In the U.S., consumption is up an astounding 5% just from last year and we’re already the world’s largest market for coffee, a $30-billion a year industry. Fancy statistics aside, I can even attest to the fact that 110% of the people here at Blue Water Credit drink it!
Here are some other interesting facts about our favorite get-up-and-go beverage:
-We consume 400 million cups of coffee per day in the United States, about 146 billion cups of coffee per year, the leading consumer of coffee in the world.
-The total number of coffee drinkers in the U.S. is 100 million.
-Among avid coffee drinkers, the average consumption is 3.1 cups per person per day.
-Coffee consumption is actually declining among the 18-24 age group, where it dropped from 50% to 41% in one year. Then again, they’re young and still have energy. Wait until they’re older, work too hard, and don’t sleep enough – those numbers will skyrocket.
-The average size of a coffee cup is 9 ounces.
-The average price of an espresso-based drink is $2.45. Starbucks considered raising the price of their coffee to $100 between 5am and 8am, hoping that no one would notice because they hadn’t had their coffee yet.
-The average price of a brewed coffee is $1.38.
-About 33% of coffee drinkers prefer “gourmet” beverages like lattes, espressos, etc.
-Plain, old traditional brewed coffee has dropped in popularity from 56 percent in 2012 to 49 percent this year, replaced by drinks with ridiculous fake Italian names.
-55% of coffee drinkers would rather gain 10 pounds than give up coffee for life.
-52% of coffee drinkers would rather go without a shower in the morning than give up coffee.
-49% of coffee drinkers would rather give up their cell phone for a month than go without coffee. So if you see chubby, unshowered people using payphones while holding a cup of coffee, you’ll know why!
-35% of Americans report that they take their coffee black, while 65% use cream and/or sugar.
-Coffee is consumed during breakfast by 65% of drinkers, and 68% report drinking coffee within an hour of waking up.
-Brazil produces 30% of the world’s coffee, then Vietnam, Colombia, and Indonesia are next on the list.
-Hawaii is the only state in the U.S. that grows coffee.
-Coffee is the second-most traded commodity on earth (oil is the first.)
-George Washington invented instant coffee! Actually, that’s true, though it was a Belgian man with the same name who was living in Guatemala who came up with the instant brew technique in 1906.
-Coffee actually grows on trees, which grow up to 30 feet tall and produce red berries, which are picked, dried, and stripped down until there’s only a green bean left, which is brewed into our beverage.
-All of the world’s coffee is grown in the “Bean Belt,” between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer near the equator.
-24% of people drink more than 13 cups per week.
-54% of coffee drinkers say that it makes them feel more like themselves. I guess the other people must feel like someone else!
-Starbucks is by far the most popular coffee chain in the U.S., with over 11,000 stores and 32.6% of the market share. They even sell over $1 billion in gift cards every year!
-By the way, I like coffee and I like gift cards - just in case you were feeling generous.
-Dunkin Donuts isn’t far off in popularity, with 7,000+ stores and 23% of the market share.
-McDonalds is a huge distributor of coffee, too – just by sheer volume of their stores. They serve over 10 million cups a day!
-The biggest trend in coffee distribution is the single-serve machine. A recent study showed that 13 percent of the U.S. population drank coffee made in a single-cup brewer the previous day, up from 10 percent in 2012.
-New York City is one of the most caffeinated cities in the U.S. with households spending about 3 times the national average on coffee.
-How does coffee work so well to wake you up and help you feel alert?
I could tell you that the primary psychoactive chemical in coffee is caffeine, an adenosine antagonist that is known for its stimulant effects, and that it also contains the monoamine oxidase inhibitors β-carboline and harmane, which may contribute to its psycho-stimulant activity.
Or…I could just tell you the simple medical truth; coffee kicks your brain in the butt (huh?) and, in large doses, produces feelings of extreme awesomeness. So go grab your favorite mug, fill ‘er up with coffee, and get some work done – American business is counting on you!
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