Specialty espresso has maintained its past-day lead over conventional espresso amongst U.S. shoppers, in line with the Nationwide Espresso Affiliation‘s (NCA) newly launched 2026 Specialty Espresso Report.
Launched in collaboration with the Specialty Espresso Affiliation (SCA), the report relies on a nationally consultant survey of 1,850 American adults aged 18 and older, carried out in January 2026 as a part of the NCA’s ongoing Nationwide Espresso Knowledge Tendencies (NCDT) research. A separate taste desire module utilizing a instrument from market analysis firm Dig Insights yielded further outcomes from a pattern of 400 respondents.
Inside the report, the “specialty” bucket features a broad vary of cold and warm drink sorts, together with espresso brewed from premium entire bean or floor varieties, espresso-based drinks, non-espresso-based drinks reminiscent of chilly brew and ready-to-drink codecs. The report doesn’t identify particular person manufacturers as examples of “specialty” or “conventional,” though the phrase “premium” seems quite a few instances as a qualifier.
Previous-day consumption of specialty espresso held regular at 47%, sustaining its benefit over conventional espresso at 42%. That past-day hole first appeared in 2024 and continued in 2025. On the past-week degree, 58% of People reported ingesting a specialty espresso beverage, up 10 share factors since 2021.
General, the report factors towards a U.S. espresso market that has been slowly however constantly evolving, with extra indicators of specialty consumption amongst youthful shoppers and within the house.
The total report is offered at no cost with registration.
Espresso-Primarily based Drinks Attain Report Highs
The largest engine in specialty espresso ascendance stays espresso-based drinks.
The report discovered that 58% of People had no less than one specialty espresso prior to now week, up from 48% in 2021, whereas 45% had an espresso-based beverage prior to now week.
The weekly espresso-based class was led by lattes (21%), espresso (20%) and cappuccinos (17%). On a past-day foundation, espresso-based drinks reached 29%, the best degree recorded on this report sequence.
That progress is very concentrated amongst 25-39-year-olds, who posted the best past-week specialty penetration at 69%. In that very same age group, 60% had an espresso-based beverage prior to now week, together with 31% who had espresso, 29% who had lattes and 25% who had cappuccinos.
Chilly Espresso is Nonetheless Increasing
Amongst past-day specialty espresso drinkers, 60% mentioned they’d a chilly specialty espresso prior to now week, up 6 share factors from 2025.
The report additionally discovered that 38% had a chilly espresso-based beverage prior to now week, up 6 factors yr over yr, led by chilly lattes (17%) and chilly mochas (11%). Previous-day penetration for non-espresso specialty drinks held at 17%, with chilly brew at 8% and frozen blended espresso at 7%.
Notably, these surveys had been carried out in January, suggesting chilly drinks have gained traction all year long, not solely within the hotter months.
Youthful Adults, Hispanic Shoppers and Coastal Areas Stand Out
Amongst 18-24-year-olds, total espresso ingesting nonetheless trails older teams, but specialty already leads conventional espresso inside that cohort, at 50% to 40% on a past-week foundation.
Amongst Hispanic People, specialty reached 67% prior to now week, the best of the ethnic teams damaged out within the report.
Amongst U.S. areas, the Northeast and West led past-week consumption at 64% and 61%, respectively, whereas the Midwest was lowest at 49%.
Taste is a Battleground
This yr’s report ventures deeper into taste, components and competitors from different drinks.
Amongst past-day specialty espresso drinkers, the report says 35% consider taste is a part of what makes a espresso “specialty.” It additionally discovered that past-day specialty drinkers had been extra possible than conventional espresso drinkers to have consumed different flavored or practical drinks, together with tea (54%), water with added nutritional vitamins or vitamins (35%), flavored water (34%) and coconut water (20%).
Within the separate flavor-notes train, candy notes ranked first total, adopted by nutty and fruity. The strongest particular person descriptors had been chocolate, caramel, brown sugar and vanilla.
But specialty drinkers additionally confirmed better openness than conventional espresso drinkers to a wider vary of profiles, together with choose fruity notes reminiscent of citrus and orchard fruit, plus extra area of interest spice, floral and inexperienced notes reminiscent of chai-inspired spices, jasmine and tea-inspired flavors.
House and Cafe Preparation
Amongst past-day specialty espresso drinkers, excluding RTD-only respondents, 76% had no less than one espresso ready at house, whereas 36% had no less than one ready away from house. Cafes, espresso retailers and donut retailers accounted for 18% of past-day preparation places.
The most typical house preparation technique remained the drip espresso maker (32%), adopted by single-cup brewers (26%), ready-to-drink espresso (21%), chilly brewing (19%) and espresso machines (18%).
“Medium” remained essentially the most generally consumed roast degree at 58%, whereas 59% of specialty drinkers added a sweetener or syrup and 60% added some form of whitener.
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