Coffee and Tea Trends: Fuel or Taste?

It is well known that coffee and tea are the most consumed hot drinks in the world. While the West gives priority to coffee consumption, Eastern countries in general prefer tea.

Colombia is one of the producers and exporters of coffee to different parts of the world, whose product is renowned for its flavor, aroma, and quality thanks to the agro-climatic conditions and the support of its coffee institutions, which add value to coffee growers.

In this sense, Buencafé has innovated in the market with freeze-dried coffee, conquering countries such as China and the United Arab Emirates, where coffee consumption is growing.

Below we reproduce some extracts of an article published on Forbes.com, which analyzes trends and knowledge about coffee and tea flavors and functions according to analysts and consultants of Hartman Group Retainer Services.

Consumption trends

• Ethical, equitable supply chains have long been a challenge and an opportunity in coffee and tea. More recent developments range from reexamination of fair trade (for example, Fair for Life) to food waste (e.g. peel).
• Consumers’ well-being is sought after, with fresh, less processed techniques and flavors, as well as progress in techniques such as cold brew.
• A broader movement exploring craft beverages means increased borrowing and blurring between coffee, tea, cocktails, beer, etc.
• RTD continues to be a culturally relevant format, aligned with increasing emphasis on immediacy and personalized/customized wellness.

 Flavors and functions

• Cáscara tea made from the coffee cherry husk and tea made from coffee leaves are ways to introduce new flavors and benefits.
• Accompanying sweeteners can give as a result higher-quality beverages and health benefits with less-sweet/not-too-sweet formulations, and better-for-you ingredients like maple syrup, honey and brown sugar.
• Coffee and tea drinks increasingly provide energy moderation by lowering overall caffeine content and formulating with balanced, clean energy from other plant sources (green coffee extract, moringa, etc.).
• Other trending and emerging botanical ingredients include anti-inflammatory turmeric, adaptogenic maca and mushrooms. Use of fermented ingredients and formats has also increased, like kombucha or coffee/tea combined with drinking vinegars, refreshing the categories.
• Less processed drinks, like cold-brewed/cold-pressed, are associated by consumers with less altered, more inherently nutritious products, and often with a smoother, less bitter coffee/tea flavor profile.

The interchange occurring across the craft beverage space is less about function and more about flavor-driven exploration. Examples include RTD nitro-infused coffee and tea (smoother mouthfeel with a beer-like foam), oaked/barrel-aged coffees (adding smoother flavor) and botanicals/extracts associated with alcoholic drinks (e.g., hops, bitters). And alcoholic beverages are increasingly referencing coffee and tea: the familiar coffee stout has been joined by beer/tea blends, tea-based liquor and tea/coffee cocktail mixers

You could also be interested in reading “Coffee trends in 2018: Where is the coffee industry going next?”

Coffee And Tea Trends: Fuel Or Flavor? January 18, 2018. USA. Forbes.com. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/thehartmangroup/2018/01/18/coffee-and-tea-trends-fuel-or-flavor/#59da21a17a3b