Specialty coffee consumption is most prevalent among those age 25 to 39, while traditional coffee remains more popular among Americans 60 and older.
This National Coffee Association data from June 2025 comes from Yannis Apostolopoulos, CEO of the Specialty Coffee Association, Irvine, California, who spoke Monday at CSP’s Dispensed Beverages Forum in Lombard, Illinois.
Apostolopoulos said that the youngest age cohort, 18 to 24, in June 2025 had at least one cup of specialty coffee the previous day, its highest level since 2022.
Specialty coffee is a coffee or coffee experience recognized for its distinctive attributes, resulting in higher value within the marketplace, Apostolopoulos said, adding that different individuals value different attributes.
“The definition of specialty is split between science and feeling,” Apostolopoulos said. “'Specialty’ started as a fluid symbol of excellence and rarity. As more players entered, meaning expanded on an exponential scale.”
This split extends into marketing, as some frame “specialty” through science, others through feeling, widening the already open canvas, he said.
Apostolopoulos said that elder generations are the ones consuming more coffee at home, “but the younger people, they definitely move toward specialty, and this has been a consistent trend for some years.”
In June 2025, 60% of cups consumed were specialty coffee—versus 40% for non-specialty coffee—which is consistent with the previous several years back to 2020, he said, citing National Coffee Association data.
“I truly believe that the convenience-store industry grasped better coffee before restaurants,” he said. “I think there were a lot of years where you could get a better cup of coffee at a convenience store than you could at a restaurant. It was fresher, they're grabbing all the varietals and different things.”
He added, “You can still get the best price for a great cup of coffee at a convenience store.”
Consumers' first encounter with coffee
Apostolopoulos also discussed consumers’ first encounter with coffee.
“Coffee enters people’s lives through a mix of familiar hands, social circles and everyday needs,” he said.
This includes family rituals and traditions (parents or grandparents drinking coffee, shaping their early exposure), functional necessity (needing energy for work or school), social and cultural connections (living in an area where coffee is culturally important) and unexpected exposure (such as trying it at an event).
For some, after their initial exposure to coffee, it became a key part of their life, Apostolopoulos said.
The first of what he called “key turning points” is ritual development, and these people began drinking coffee as a part of their morning routine or to fit in with others.
“In this turning point, coffee becomes integral to preparing for and starting the day,” he said.
The next turning point is those who identified positive health benefits. These people found it to be good for their health or as a replacement for other beverages.
The third turning point is spending time in cafes.
“As respondents studied, read or gathered in social cafe spaces, they deepened their social connections,” he said. “Spending more time in and around environments which served coffee led to increased participation.”
The final turning point is finding their preferred cup.
“After finding something they enjoyed—a new flavor, brewing process, or other format of coffee—these respondents became more engaged with coffee,” Apostolopoulos said.
Evolving experiences
Forty-three percent of consumers’ coffee experiences stay about the same over time, Apostolopoulos said, citing data from the Specialty Coffee Association.
“Whether starting with simple instant coffee or something more distinctive, today their coffee choices look very similar to their early experiences—perhaps with a preference for familiar brands or styles, but without much change,” Apostolopoulos said.
Conversely, 57% of those have experiences that have changed over time.
“Early experiences might have been whatever was easily available—like an average cup at school or work, or instant coffee at home,” he said. “Today, coffee experiences include more variety or uniqueness, such as different origins, special preparations or labels like organic or Fair Trade.
Either way, there’s a lot of interest in experiencing more, he said, with 54% extremely or very interested in becoming more engaged with coffee, such as trying new coffees, learning more about coffee or exploring new coffee experiences.
“Interest is highest in developing markets, suggesting a potential aspirational or status factor for specialty coffee,” Apostolopoulos said.
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