Look out, Coke and Pepsi. The corner coffee house movement, with Starbucks in the vanguard, has been so effective as the 21st century version of the 1950’s soda fountain that coffee is, for the first time since 1990, nearly as popular among U.S. adults as soft drinks. A report by Susan Buchanan of Dow Jones News wires says that the increased traffic to America’s coffee houses has been mirrored by higher demand for more exotic coffee blends at the grocery store. Research reports hinting at coffee’s health benefits–as a diabetes preventative and an athletic performance enhancer, among others–have also spurred interest among the weight-and-health conscious.
When was the last time anyone expounded on the health benefits of a cola? But this burgeoning affection for Joe has had results in the marketplace. Blue-collar Robusta coffee beans,generally considered the inferior of the temperamental Arabica coffee beans grown for their subtle flavors, and a major component of most coffee blends, have seen a 20% price increase this year. Not to be outdone, their upscale relative Arabica this week hit a ten-month high of $1.2835 per pound–up 16% from last year. And with Brazil, the world’s largest Arabica coffee producer, predicting that its 2007 crop may be as much as eight million bags, or 20%, smaller than this year’s, that price is not likely to fall soon.
Even mass-produced coffees from giant coffee roasters Proctor & Gamble and Kraft are getting a new look, designed to appeal to the more sophisticated coffee drinkers of today. Folgers’ parent company, P&G markets both a “Coffeehouse Series” of ground coffee in including light,medium-dark, and dark roasts, and several flavors of powdered Café Lattes and Cappuccinos, under the “CaféCoffee” brand. And the increasing demand for exotic coffee is not likely to ebb any time soon. It has had, according to a March 2006 survey by the National Coffee Association, its quickest growth among those between 25 and 39 years old, business’ upwardly mobile set. 47% of those questioned in that age group are now coffee drinkers, a nearly 25% jump in two years. Coke and Pepsi, look out.
