hot chocolate

Coffee, Tea, or Hot Chocolate: Which Is Most Popular?

by • Coffee, Hot Chocolate, Tea • Tags: , , , • 0 Comments

tea-and-coffee_Myj5wKSO_LThe long-standing debate over the best hot beverage rages on, in a friendly manner, of course, year after year. Some swear by the morning cup of coffee that provides that little jolt of caffeine and the perfect aroma to get one started for the day. Others prefer a relaxing cup of tea along with a newspaper or a good book. Still others say hot chocolate is the only way to go for hot beverages. So, who is right? Which of the three hot beverages is most popular?

Coffee is, by far, the most popular hot beverage in the world. According to a Euromonitor analysis of 2009 retail sales, consumers purchased just under 5,000 pounds of coffee per capita as opposed to about 277 pounds of tea. Here in the United States, coffee dominates the hot beverage market with the average consumer drinking several cups a day. The U.S. is easily the largest consumer of coffee in the world, per capita.

Coffee Consumption Among Younger People

There doesn’t seem to be any drastic regional differences between coffee and tea trends in the U.S., with the possible exception of a few cities with a heavy population of young people. According to Forbes, young people are beginning to eschew coffee in favor of tea due to the supposed health benefits of doing so. Along those lines, green tea is very big among the younger crowd.

Forbes cites a 2015 study by YouGov that shows tea consumption in the U.S. has grown some 20% since the turn of the century. It is especially strong among those under 30. For example, the millennial crowd shows equal preferences for coffee and tea, with about 42% favoring one or the other. Contrast that with older Americans who prefer coffee by a ratio of nearly 4-to-1.

In cities with a significant millennial population – like Seattle, San Francisco, and Boston – tea consumption is a lot stronger than in other places. However, it still has a long way to go to catch up to coffee.

The Hot Chocolate Question

Hot chocolate does have its place as a competitor against coffee and tea. However, hot chocolate consumption is still viewed by most people as entirely separate from the coffee and tea debate. In other words, the number of individuals who choose hot chocolate as their main hot beverage of the day are few and far between. Most people who consume it do so in the same way they consume wine – as a special treat rather than one’s primary beverage.

This has given rise to a whole culture of gourmet hot chocolates and specialist cocoa drinks. Those who consider themselves hot chocolate connoisseurs are as passionate about their drinks as even the most snobbish of wine snobs. But it’s all good. If hot chocolate is your thing, enjoy!

The debate over the superiority of coffee or tea will continue as long as people drink them. For now, coffee is still the clear winner.

What’s New in the Hot Chocolate Industry?

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What’s New in the Hot Chocolate IndustrySo, you are the kind of person who would rather fill your morning mug with a good hot chocolate rather than coffee or tea. You have suffered for so many years as coffee has held the spotlight and tea has remained the drink of choice for the upper crust. Well, now you have reason to celebrate. There are two important trends now emerging in the hot chocolate industry that are increasing the stature of your beverage of choice.

For the record, hot chocolate is no longer a drink confined to cold winter days when the hot beverage is used to help take the chill out of one’s bones. It is now a socially acceptable hot beverage consumed 365 days a year in homes, offices, restaurants, and cafes.

Interested in knowing more? Here are the two hot chocolate trends we spoke of:

Single-Origin Hot Chocolate

Wine lovers have their special vintages while coffee lovers have their preferred blends. What do hot chocolate drinkers have? Until now, very little other than dry drink mixes to which water is added. But things are now different with the introduction of single-origin hot chocolate. This gourmet hot beverage is popping up at cafes and coffee houses all over the country.

Single-origin hot chocolate refers to a hot beverage made, on-site, directly from cocoa beans, husks, nibs, or pure chocolate. Simply put, it is a handmade drink derived from pure chocolate or various parts of the cocoa plant itself. It is not mixed with any sugars, emulsifiers, extra flavors, and so on.

Making the hot chocolate beverage this way allows experienced chocolatiers to produce an incredibly rich beverage that is unparalleled by anything you could find on a grocery store shelf. You really have to taste it to understand how different it is.

Increasing Consumer Demand

The second trend we want to address is that of increasing consumer demand. While we do not yet see unusual growth here in the U.S., hot chocolate has finally overtaken both coffee and tea in England. At least one prominent retail chain, Harrods, has experienced double-digit sales growth of hot chocolate products since the start of the year. Hot chocolate sales now outpace prepackaged coffee and tea.

Harrods officials say that hot chocolate has always been viewed in Britain as a luxury drink. But a heavy emphasis on the introduction of new flavors and better quality has led consumers to begin looking at hot chocolate in the same way they perceive tea and coffee: as a daily beverage that can be enjoyed by anyone.

It is plain to see that hot chocolate is becoming a more popular beverage among consumers both here and abroad. That’s just fine with us. Here at Galaxie Coffee, we are thrilled the be able to offer a full line of hot chocolate products alongside our coffees, teas, juices, and bottled waters. Do not forget to ask about our hot chocolate selections when you contact us for service to your office.