America and the Rise of Specialty Coffee

Today I thought it might be appropriate to survey the coffee habits of the United States, the largest consumer of coffee in the world. Since the Boston Tea Party and the War of Independence, coffee has been a mainstay for this country. More than 300 million cups of coffee are consumed in the U.S. daily, most of which comes from countries like Brazil, Vietnam, Columbia, Guatemala and Mexico.

Consumer demand for specialty coffees has grown significantly since the 1960s, which at that time was a very different market. In the 1960s and before, the supply of coffee was concentrated in only a few companies, which generally provided poor quality, cheap coffee. Since the 1980s, however, a diverse group of small roasters and green coffee suppliers assembled to form the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). This organization, which advocated the combination of good quality green coffee and good roasting techniques, caught on with consumers, which in turn led to the rise of specialty coffee bars, the most prominent of which is Starbucks, a company that I myself visit upon occasion. The company for which I work, Destination Cafe, is another example of this "specialty" movement.

Consumer demand for specialty coffee continues to expand in the United States, particularly in the north-west, where Starbucks got its start. The SCAA currently has approximately 3,000 members and is the largest coffee organization in the world. In 2005, according to Jon Thorn's The Coffee Companion, the specialty coffee sector was worth just over $11 billion, and are made up of an estimated 21,400 specialty coffee outlets, which includes cafes, espresso bars and retail stores.

It is estimated that 15 per cent of people drink specialty coffee every day (60 per cent drink it occasionally), for the most part reversing the downward trend in coffee consumption that was the case previously. Nevertheless, it looks as if the United States will lose its pre-eminent position as a coffee consumer within a few years. Brazil, the second-largest consumer, is predicted to over-take the United States quite soon. Why this is the case is not altogether clear, but it may have something to do with the increasingly health-conscious American consumer.