Coffee Market Trends and Coffee Business Trends 2025-2026

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Coffee Market Trends and Coffee Business Trends 2025-2026

Trends

The coffee business continues to develop dynamically at a rapid pace. Experts are looking for new ideas, experimenting with recipes, changing the methods of processing and brewing coffee beans. In order not to get lost in the coffee market in conditions of high competition, business owners should follow trends and offer customers original drinks.

Coffee Market Trends and Coffee Business Trends 2025-2026

In this article, we will introduce you to the main directions for promoting a coffee point, which correspond to the trends in the development of the coffee market trends in 2025-2026.

Novelty and originality in taste

Flavor pairing is a global trend for the entire world. Usually, new trends come to the world of coffee after barista championships, during which participants find original recipes or unusual ways to prepare drinks.

Coffee mixology

Mixology focuses on the taste of coffee itself, which is considered the basis of the drink. The barista’s job is to emphasize or decorate the drink with other ingredients that reveal additional notes in the coffee.

It is important not only to feel something new in coffee and add ingredients, but also to rely on its original flavors. Different roasting of beans also helps to reveal new flavors.

Examples of mixology:

  • The barista sensed hints of mango and passion fruit in the coffee and added pink flowers and cloves. The result is a taste reminiscent of cherry punch.
  • Mixologists have tried to reveal the espresso by roasting coffee beans in different ways and have achieved the taste of currants and gooseberries.
  • At the barista championship, participants restored the taste and aroma of the coffee berry by adding pear, grapes and cocoa.

Plant milk

Using alternative milk requires new knowledge and skills from the barista. This is worth paying attention to now, since plant milk is gaining more and more popularity every year.

What types of plant milk are used to make coffee drinks:

  • Coconut milk – gives the drink a creamy taste, contains a lot of saturated fat.
  • Almond milk – attracts with its nutty flavor, but not too intrusive. It is important to note that almond milk sometimes foams poorly, like coconut milk, but there are special lines for baristas, thanks to which you can get a fluffy foam.
  • Oat milk has a neutral taste and allows you to taste the type of coffee itself.
  • Banana milk – has a bright fruity taste.
  • Soy milk – has a neutral taste, best paired with less acidic coffee.

Combination drinks

Consumers increasingly want variety, so one of the trends for next year is the search for original recipes. The more interesting the drink, the more likely it is that visitors to the coffee shop will want to try it.

Offer your guests famous original recipes or surprise them with signature drinks that can only be tried in your establishment. 

Examples of popular drinks that will see growing demand include: bumble coffee (espresso + orange juice), espresso tonic, cheese coffee, pumpkin latte. Among syrups, consumers are interested in: salted caramel, amaretto, mango, bubble gum.

Original snacks for coffee

Traditional sweets are being replaced by unusual snacks. It is important to choose a product that will go well with a particular type of coffee, and match the taste of beans of different roasts.

Examples of original snacks and coffee that are a perfect pair:

  • Light roast coffee and soft cream cheese,
  • Medium bodied coffee and bacon,
  • Omelette and a cup of medium roast coffee,
  • Coffee and pieces of dried chicken meat,
  • Risotto with mushrooms and cheese with medium roast coffee,
  • Salted caramel and shade-grown coffee.

Professional baristas use a so-called flavor wheel to help them find new combinations of drinks and food.

Healthy lifestyle trend

The trend for healthy cocktails has been going on for years, and it should not be ignored in 2023-2024. Healthy lifestyle adherents are willing to pay more for drinks with natural ingredients.

Natural sweeteners

In the wake of the healthy lifestyle trend, lovers of sweet coffee are looking for a healthier alternative to refined sugar. The following sugar substitutes can be used as natural sweeteners for coffee drinks:

  • Stevia is a sweetener made from the leaves of a plant of the same name. Stevia leaf extract is hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, so you only need a little bit to sweeten a cup of coffee.
  • Coconut sugar is a product made from the juice extracted from the stem of the coconut palm flower bud. Its main feature is a low glycemic index. Coconut sugar is also rich in fiber and contains useful nutrients.
  • Maple syrup is a sweetener that is obtained by evaporating maple sap. Maple syrup is less caloric than regular sugar. It contains many useful vitamins, which is why it has a positive effect on the human body.

“Functional coffee”

Healthy lifestyle supporters prefer drinks that contain natural ingredients and no sugar. Coffee is also low-calorie.

What can be offered to those who adhere to a healthy lifestyle:

Coffee with healthy additives: vitamins, protein, probiotics, collagen;

  • Sugar and milk substitutes;
  • Decaffeinated coffee (no caffeine);
  • Natural flavors: lavender, spices, fruit milk.

Protein coffee

Protein coffee, or Profe, is a drink that combines nutritious protein powder and invigorating coffee. Protein and coffee complement each other perfectly in taste and have a lot of useful properties. Profe can replace a meal for those who do not have time to have breakfast in the morning.

A filling snack in the form of protein coffee can be arranged during the day and before a sports workout. The drink improves mood, has a positive effect on performance, and promotes a surge of energy. Moreover, protein helps neutralize the negative impact of caffeine on the body.

Profe is easy to prepare: add protein to coffee and mix thoroughly. To prevent the protein from curdling due to the hot temperature, it is recommended to add it to cool coffee.

Decaffeinated coffee

Decaffeinated coffee, or decaf, does not contain caffeine. It is removed from green beans, preserving the aromatic and flavor properties of coffee. First, unroasted beans are soaked in hot water, then the caffeine is removed. 

There are several ways to decaffeinate, the two most popular of which are:

  • Traditional: After pre-steaming, the beans are placed in a special solution that washes out the caffeine.

Ethyl acetate is considered a more natural solvent because it is made from fruit or cane sugar.

  • Swiss: Green coffee extract is filtered through carbon filters to remove the caffeine. The coffee beans are then soaked in the filtered extract, which “takes” the caffeine.

New methods of processing beans and preparing coffee drinks

Trends for the coming year are aimed at finding new ways to prepare coffee. Much attention is also paid to the processing of coffee beans.

Fermented coffee

Any coffee is fermented. As soon as the coffee berry is picked from the branch, the sugars in the juice begin to interact with microorganisms – fermentation begins.

New trends are to control the fermentation process itself and experiment with coffee processing. Two methods of coffee fermentation are actively developing:

  • Anaerobic fermentation: coffee cherries are first washed, then placed in sealed tanks where oxygen is not available. The remaining pulp and gluten around the beans disintegrates and carbon dioxide is released. Under its influence, the beans are saturated with the aroma from the pulp and juice, the taste of coffee acquires notes of fruits, yogurt and spices.
  • Carbonic maceration: similar to the previous method, but differs in that carbon dioxide is immediately added to the containers, which completely replaces oxygen. The fermentation process is slower, which allows the coffee to reveal fruity, floral and alcoholic notes.

The results of the taste and aroma of coffee are unpredictable, so such experiments are especially valued and gaining popularity.

Lightness of drinks

The trend towards making lighter, more drinkable and less intense drinks continues. Additional ingredients such as water, milk and cream allow you to make such coffee. The richness and strength can also be adjusted by choosing the right coffee beans: light roast, coarse grind, and using different brewing methods. Examples of such methods: geyser and drip coffee makers, pour-over, drip bags.

Drip coffee

The coffee market is clearly moving towards drip coffee. This is ground and roasted coffee, which is packaged in portioned bags called drips. Brewing drip coffee is easy, which is especially convenient for traveling. The drip bag has a filter, so all you need to make a cup of coffee is a cup and hot water.

Drip bags are intended for single use, like tea bags. Ground coffee is stored inside the drip in a nitrogen environment, so the taste and aroma of the drink is preserved for a long time.

The popularity of drip coffee is gaining momentum in Russia and the CIS countries, but drip coffee is not yet in demand on the European market.

Cold coffee

The trend for cold drinks continues, sales are also growing every year. Cold coffee lovers are happy to buy it on summer days. What drinks can be offered to visitors:

  • Iced coffee: The drink is prepared using the traditional hot extraction method and then cooled with ice cubes.
  • Cold brew, on the other hand, is steeped immediately in cold water for a long period.
  • Iced latte contains the same ingredients as a regular latte, but they are mixed chilled.
  • Coffee kvass is a coffee-based drink to which sugar syrup and fresh passion fruit are added.
  • Nitro coffee is one of the most promising drinks of the coming year. It is prepared on the basis of cold brew, and then saturated with nitrogen using a special device. Immediately after preparation, the drink is covered with a lush cap of foam.
  • Nitro coffee is used to make drinks with milk and caramel, such as nitro latte and nitro raf. They taste like slightly melted ice cream with coffee notes.

Ice, cold extraction and nitro installation significantly change the taste of coffee, attracting more and more people to try cold coffee drinks.

Changes in grain processing methods

Today, more and more farmers understand that the taste of coffee depends on the processing of the coffee berry. Every year, new methods of processing grain appear, among which the most relevant for the next season can be highlighted:

  • A combination of wet and dry processing – coffee is soaked in water and then dried, repeating the process several times. This mix allows you to reveal the richest taste of coffee.
  • Maceration with carbon dioxide – the berries are ozonated before soaking to get rid of bacteria. Then they are placed in a container, saturated with carbon dioxide, thereby displacing oxygen. The flavor notes acquire shades of grapes, dates, maple syrup, sage.
  • Processing with coffee juice (missto). The juice comes out of the berry during the soaking process, after which bacteria appear in it. One of the bacterial colonies is transplanted into a tank with coffee berries and fermented.
  • Honey processing: the sticky part of the coffee berry acts as “honey” here. The more of it remains on the beans, the sweeter the drink will be. The processing itself is a mix of dry and wet methods.

Latte with toppings

The idea of ​​decorating coffee with toppings has been around for many years. In addition to the aesthetics of appearance, toppings also add additional flavors to drinks. Classic toppings (cream, chocolate, marshmallow) will be replaced by unusual ones in 2025-2026.

Here are some examples of lattes with toppings:

  • oat milk latte with granola,
  • pistachio latte with added nut butter,
  • latte with strawberry biscuit and freeze-dried berries,
  • pumpkin spice latte,
  • latte with halva,
  • Floral latte with added hibiscus petals.

Coffee shops have huge scope for creativity and experimentation with drink flavors. In addition, it becomes easier to promote coffee on social networks due to beautiful and unusual presentation.

Sustainability in the world of coffee

The issue of environmental friendliness is becoming more acute in the coffee market. The solution to this issue is associated with conscious consumption and recycling, for example:

  • Refusal of disposable cups in favor of reusable ones. Coffee shops sell stylish thermo mugs, offer discounts to those who come with their own cup.
  • Processing of coffee beans: using the cake as fertilizer, making body scrubs.
  • Using biodegradable plastic for coffee bean packaging or reusable cans.

It is worth noting that the topic of staff training remains relevant – preparing coffee in different cups requires additional skills.

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