2022's Top Coffee Trends According To Grubhub
Coffee is a pretty significant part of American culture. Whether it's grab-and-go on the way to the office or sipped slowly in a cozy café, most of us savor a cup of coffee at least once a day. According to Drive Research, nearly 75% of Americans surveyed drink coffee every day and 49% consume up to five cups daily. Half of the people who responded to the survey said medium roast is their go-to grind (dark roast garnered 28% of the vote and light roast slid in at 12%). Of the 32% of respondents who said they regularly purchase their daily cuppa at a coffee shop, most add a flavor shot to their order.
Looks like we can agree most Americans drink coffee, or a coffee-based beverage, every day, but what exactly are they ordering? Grubhub has some interesting observations. For the past several years, the online food delivery service has included coffee in its annual round-up of favorite food orders. In 2020, the beloved pumpkin spice latte topped the Grubhub list as the most-ordered coffee beverage. Runners-up were vanilla latte, flat white, cold brew, and nitro coffee. Results didn't vary much in 2021 when Grubhub's data revealed a repeat win for pumpkin spice latte, followed by vanilla latte, cold brew, flat white, and nitro coffee.
The only difference between 2020 and 2021? Flat white and cold brew switched places on the list. All that being said, which drink will wear the Grubhub crown this year?
A surprise twist
Hang on to your coffee cups, because the results of Grubhub's 2022 survey — based on an analysis of millions of orders received between January 2022 and November 2022 — flipped the script. The report, titled 2022 Delivered, reveals a significant shift in coffee ordering habits. According to the delivery service's data, Americans prefer their coffee over ice. That's right. Regardless of weather patterns or location, 2022 data showed iced coffee as the number one coffee order placed by its customers.
Rounding out the five most common coffee orders for 2022, Grubhub lists hot coffee at No. 2 followed by iced caramel coffee, iced French vanilla coffee, and frozen coffee. That's a whopping four varieties of iced coffee in Grubhub's list of top 5 coffee orders for 2022.
Although Grubhub's 2022 Delivered survey doesn't provide information about coffee ordered with traditional dairy, there is a category for non-dairy preferences. Topping the list was oat milk, followed by almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk, and cashew milk. In fact, Americans who ordered coffee delivery via Grubhub chose oat milk over almond milk by a 4:1 margin. That jibes with a survey by Morning Consult that 67% of U.S. adults have tried non-dairy alternatives, with soy milk and oat milk leading the pack.