Coffee Trends to Watch Out For in 2017

There’s no doubt that coffee has become one of the most favorite drinks in the planet. It is and still continues to be. Legend has it that the origin of coffee dates back to the 10th century in the ancient forests of Ethiopia.

Centuries after, coffee just got stronger and more loved by people. Along with this is the amazing progress that coffee has undergone through the years. A lot of coffee lovers have seen the coffee industry grow and develop in three waves.

The first wave had seen the increase of coffee consumption. Coffee has become a go-to drink in every household. It has been practically everyone’s companion in the morning before any activities would take place.

The second wave can be considered as the rise of Starbucks and a few coffee variations that excited a lot of coffee drinkers. Some of these variations included espresso, frappuccino, and mocha latte. You can say that a lot of people became addicted to these different tastes.

This day has been called the third wave which started in the year 2000. If you notice, more and more coffee roasters and drinkers become very particular with the coffee beans, as well as the methods of roasting. A lot of roasters are now working directly with farmers and producers to come up with the ideal coffee beans that are best for different varieties of coffee.

Now as we move to year 2017, coffee continues to be a superb beverage that brings happiness to people. We can’t fully predict the future but with the different things that transpired in 2016 in terms of coffee drinking, there are coffee trends that might prove to continue and survive.

Let’s take a look at some of the coffee trends in 2017

FLAVORS & STYLE

Nitro

Nitro coffee has smooth creamy taste with cascading bubbles and the frothiness of nitrogen. This involves cold brew infused with nitrogen gas and is usually stored in a keg, which is then pressurized, poured from tap, and served without ice.

Cold Brew

Around 2010, it started as an extravagant treat but now, it’s available almost everywhere like in grocery stores and coffee shops.

Several coffee experts say that the future of coffee is cold (not the negative meaning though) and that a major shift in the industry towards cold coffee drinks can happen. With that trend, looks like cold brew is here to stay.

With cold brew, coffee is brewed for a long period of time but doesn’t involve heat at all. So the outcome is apparently cold coffee but is smoother and less acidic.

Flat White

Flat white is often confused with latte or cappuccino. It needs an additional espresso shot along with a delicate milk steaming process. The milk should be swirled and folded in a way that it creates velvet microfilm or very tiny bubbles.

Note that flat white might be commonly referred to as a small latte just because usually it’s served in a smaller cup. However, that isn’t really the factor that makes it flat white.

The main difference between a flat white and a latte, and even a cappuccino is the way the milk is prepared. It’s probably harder to notice when you often go to a coffee shop where baristas make all these three drinks as if there’s no difference.

So as a result of different milk preparations, flat white comes out to have an even mix of liquid milk and smooth velvet foam that feels like you’re drinking yummy espresso.

Latte, on the other hand, is milky and has just little foam on its top making it feel like you’re just drinking a milky coffee.

Cappuccino includes stiff foam so it feels like you are drinking bubbles first before actually getting to the coffee part at the bottom of your cup.

Tea-Infused Coffee & Coffee-Infused Tea

The year 2017 will again see the rise of tea-infused coffee especially with the popularity of matcha tea. Matcha green tea is known to be the purest form of green tea and is praised for its amazing benefits and its potential to energize. Aside from that, matcha also helps boost memory and concentration, detoxify the body, improve the immune system, and burn calories.

With all the benefits mentioned, it’s no wonder this amazing tea is combined with coffee to create a beneficial and even more delicious beverage.

Flavored Coffee

Although could be a subject for debate, flavored coffee is still continuously making its rounds around the coffee industry. Hard-core coffee drinkers may believe in allowing coffee to be in its purest form but other coffee enthusiasts think that it doesn’t hurt to have many options when it comes to coffee.

For people who aren’t really into pure black coffee, flavored coffee is an instant favorite as this introduces coffee newbies or occasional drinkers to the complex but amazing world of coffee.

There’s an abundance of flavors nowadays and people can think of just about any flavor applicable. You can choose from maple walnut, ice cream flavored-coffee, red velvet (yum!), and honey cinnamon. You can even create your own!

INDUSTRY TRENDS

Coffee Water

More and more people seem to care about the type of water they use for their coffee, which is a very good thing. As you may be well aware of, your cup of coffee is 2% coffee and 98% water. It’s something that you won’t really notice unless you see the figures.

With the percentages in mind, it’s apparent that a good cup of coffee largely has something to do with the type of water. Improving your coffee beans is one thing, fine-tuning your coffee water is another.

The evolution of coffee water is definitely something to watch out for. Coffee drinkers and consumers must know that there’s already specific type of water that will make the coffee experience even more pleasant and gratifying.

In 2017, we’ll see which type of water will do best for which type of coffee. Whether purified water or not, we’ll see in the months ahead.

Sustainable Organic Beans

With today’s population, more and more people truly care about where their coffee beans come from. It turns out that people now choose to buy coffee beans from companies that have good social values, or those that produce fresh and natural organic ingredients.

Although the sustainability of organic coffee and roasting practices are a work in progress, there’s no doubt that these will improve more in 2017.

The Coffee Shop Experience

True, there’s Starbucks and even Dunkin Donuts, but people are now looking into more options especially the local, unbranded ones. It gives the feeling that they support local and will be very willing to spend their bucks on them. #GoLocal and #SupportLocal are a thing these days.

Also, baristas now have the task to know more about coffee and the best practices that revolve around it. Since customers are now more inquisitive about the type of coffee they drink, they tend to ask directly from the baristas.

Coffee Subscriptions

You probably didn’t imagine coffee subscription happening, or did you? Regardless, it’s amazing how almost everything can now be delivered to your doorstep in just a few clicks over the internet.

There used to be magazine and book subscriptions. Then come some wine subscriptions, and all other subscriptions companies can think of. So why not have a coffee subscription too, right? Excellent idea.

If you are into this kind of thing, then watch out for more surprises about coffee subscriptions. This is going to be exciting, for sure!

To conclude, 2017 is going to be a fun-filled year for the world of coffee. We can expect more discoveries, progress, and innovation. Let’s just hope that these are all for the betterment of the coffee lovers community and the people who work hard to achieve the best coffee.

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