Coffee is the world’s most commonly consumed beverage behind water and tea to the tune of two and a quarter billion cups a day. Our global desire for coffee supports coffee farms across the globe as well as an entire industry of processing, shipping, storage, roasting, retail sales, coffee making equipment and coffee shops. So, what happens the various parts of the coffee supply chain if people start to drink less coffee? This thought occurred to us after reading an article in Bloomberg noting how people are cutting back on caffeine to avoid the jitters and to sleep better.

Folks Opting for Less Caffeine

Food and drink fads come and go. Coffee has retained its position as a top beverage for hundreds of years. What has changed in recent times has been the sourcing of high quality beans along with an extremely wide variety of coffee drinks at outlets such as Starbucks. Pertinent to how much coffee we drink is a recent move to low caffeine drinks in the afternoon even though the morning cup of coffee continues to be the norm. As noted by Bloomberg, documented sales of caffeine-free and low-caffeine beverages are increasing in the last year. Ready to consume bottles of tea and decaf coffee sales are up by fifteen percent. Suppliers of ready to consume beverages such as Nestle say the many coffee drinkers are becoming “aware of energy management” and avoidance of coffee side effects like sleepless nights and jitters. Is this change in coffee consumption a fad or a longer term change?

Coffee Fads Verses Permanent Changes in Coffee Consumption

Some variations in the coffee scene are simply temporary fads that last a few months to a year. This generally applies to novelty drinks. On the other hand, changes tied to health concerns like the use of non-dairy creamers, use of decaf when one suffers from hypertension or acid reflux tend to become lifelong habits. Aspect of the coffee world like cold-brewed and bottled coffee may become a permanent part of one’s life based on lifestyle and convenience. K pods started out as a novelty but because of their convenience have become a permanent part of the coffee world. In fact, sales of K pods commonly tell us a lot about how tastes among coffee drinkers may be changing.

Reasons Why Folks Drink or Avoid Coffee

A study published a few years ago in the journal Nutrients found that only about one in six or seven coffee drinkers were aware of the many health benefits of drinking coffee. The primary reason for drinking coffee for most people is the stimulant effect for waking up in the morning or keeping going late in the day. People are more likely to be aware of negative side effects of coffee than the long term benefits and this fact is likely to drive consumers to drink less coffee or drink decaf. This conclusion of the study about coffee consumption is consistent with what we are seeing in the coffee market today with a switch to decaf or low coffee drinks from the normal cup of Java.

How Long Does Bottled Coffee Last?

For those who are part of the herd buying bottled coffee, regular or low-caffeine for later in the day it is useful to know how long your beverage will retain its freshness. Because you may be buying your bottled coffee in bulk instead of brewing a cup at a time or buying individual cups at the coffee shop. The caffeine that may or may not be in your bottled coffee will not age. But the antioxidants and other aspects that provide flavor will last up to six months if stored properly. Like with coffee beans, properly stored bottled coffee will retain its freshness for up to six months.