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Top 5 coffee trends of 2022

Quality and convenience are the driving forces behind the top coffee trends of 2022. The coffee market must provide options that taste great, are easy to whip together, and are healthful for patrons' bodies and the planet.

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March 28, 2022 by Richard Traylor — Writer, WebstaurantStore

After a year of silence, shopkeepers' bells chimed again as customers trickled back through cafe doors. They came slowly at first, then in droves, but they arrived with different tastes and expectations than before. Enduring an ongoing pandemic heightened public health awareness.

Patrons are cutting coffee drinks laden with artificial colors, sugar and cow's milk in favor of simple and ethically sourced coffee and tea beverages enriched with plant-based ingredients.

When people choose to visit a coffee shop in 2022, they will make up for the lost time by staying longer and ordering more. However, quarantines cemented the importance of off-premise business models.

Many of today's coffee and tea consumers drink their beverages at home or on the go, so businesses should diversify their e-commerce and takeaway options. From drink trends to the evolution of coffeehouse culture, discover what is in store for the coffee and tea market in 2022.

Quality and convenience are the driving forces behind the top coffee trends of 2022. The average American consumes two cups of coffee a day. They are making at least one of those two cups at home and many want fast options they can grab on the go for cup No. 2. However, people aren't willing to sacrifice sustainable sourcing and flavor. The coffee market must provide options that taste great, are easy to whip together, and are healthful for patrons' bodies and the planet.

Following are the top five coffee trends of 2022:

1. Instant coffee

Once upon a time, coffee pods were the answer to fast and convenient homemade coffee. However, when dalgona coffee recipes overtook the popular social media app TikTok during coronavirus quarantines, the focus shifted onto instant coffee. Fast forward to 2022, and people are using various forms of instant coffee as environmentally responsible coffee pod replacements.

Consumers seeking instant coffee have different interests and needs than pourover enthusiasts. Before transitioning to remote work, this crowd grabbed coffee at a drive-through or used their break room's Keurig.

They seek speed, savings and convenience, but they don't want to sacrifice flavor. Premium instant coffee as liquid coffee concentrates, ready-to-drink cans of coffee and coffee powders will be the hottest coffee trends of 2022.

2. Locally roasted coffee

People are looking for a premium experience when they visit a coffee shop, and that starts with freshly roasted beans. Raw coffee beans are green-hued and grassy tasting. Coffee roasting is heating and browning coffee beans to bring out their aroma and flavor. Once they're roasted, coffee beans lose their freshness.

The sooner you grind and brew your roasted coffee beans, the better. While working with a local roaster is a great option, the freshest cup of coffee is one you roast yourself. You can tap into the home brewing market by selling your roasted beans both in your business and on your website.

3. Flavored coffee beans

Flavored coffee beans are on the rise in 2022. Given the health crisis we've suffered through the past two years, people want to safeguard their well-being by improving their diet. However, amending dietary habits can frustrate coffee drink lovers. How can they enjoy the beloved flavor of a pumpkin spice latte without the sugar and artificial coloring? Enter flavored coffee beans.

Roasteries add flavoring oils to their coffee beans to mimic nuts, spices and fruits without the sugar. In the past, companies used flavorings to mask substandard beans and only offered unimaginative basics like French vanilla. Today, craft roasters use premium beans to create fanciful flavors such as bananas foster, pistachio gelato and bourbon pecan.

4. Single origin coffee

Single origin coffee, also known as single source coffee, is harvested from a single crop, country or region and carries the unique flavor notes of its origins. Today's coffee consumer cares about ethical procurement, unique flavor experiences, coffee tourism and sustainability. Tracing beans back to their grower allows you to confirm that they are fair trade, sustainable and organic.

Single origin coffee beans cost more than coffee blends, but their retail value is far greater. Coffee drinkers will pay 200% more for roasts with a clear origin country. The more information you can provide about your single origin selections, the better. Customers want to engage with the region and culture that made their beverage, and they appreciate seeing their purchase support a small farm.

5. Snapchilled coffee

As its name suggests, snapchilling takes coffee from piping hot to icy cold in a matter of minutes. Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumnus David Dussault developed snapchill technology for his cold beverage business, Elemental Beverage Co. Think of Elemental snapchillers as tabletop, instant blast chillers for liquids.

Operators set the snapchill machine to the cold temperature that best suits their roast, add water and it will brew plus chill the coffee to the prescribed temperature in 60 seconds per 12 ounces.
The advent of snapchill technology presents a welcome alternative to iced coffee and cold brewing.

Pouring coffee over ice dilutes its flavor, and chilling coffee in the fridge oxidizes the beans. While cold-brewed coffee avoids these foibles, cold water does a poor job of extracting the coffee beans' full flavor, and it takes a long time to make.

Brewing coffee with hot water and immediately chilling it preserves its flavor and saves time. You can serve fresh glasses of snapchilled coffee to customers in their break rooms, or you can bottle snapchilled coffee and sell it on the booming RTD market.

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About Richard Traylor

Richard Traylor graduated from Temple University in the winter of 2014 with a degree in Strategic Communications. After graduating, he taught English in South Korea for two years, during which he was fortunate enough to travel and see the world. In October 2016, he returned home and started to work in SEO Content at Webstaurant Store. This blog previously ran on Webstaurant Store.

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