Story courtesy of Houston Press,
"A recent Zagat survey
revealed that we still consume coffee even if the price of a cup of Joe
continues to increase while our economy struggles to get back on its
feet. In fact, the average American consumes 2.2 cups of coffee each
day, according to the Zagat statistics.
Although we need to cut back on our spending during this economic
stage, Americans refuse to give up their daily coffee; in fact, they
don't even want to at least cut back. As a coffee addict, I can attest
to this mentality. If I don't have any sort of caffeine in the morning, I
will have a guaranteed migraine by lunchtime. That's probably a bad
thing, seeing as how I am only 21 years old and am that addicted to coffee.
This Zagat survey analyzed coffee consumption in America through how
much Americans are willing to spend on one cup, their preference for hot
or cold and which vendors they prefer.
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| Photo by Molly Dunn |
In
this survey, 65 percent of voters confessed that their coffee addiction
and habits did not stop even if they were struggling financially. It
seems as though coffee is a means of comfort for Americans, no matter
how much it costs.
Surprisingly, only 23 percent of voters strictly made coffee at home
rather than buying it from a restaurant or other vendor. More
surprisingly, less than 10 percent of voters bought less expensive
coffee beverages or smaller coffee drinks, switched where they bought
coffee or overall drank less coffee.
A possible reason for this behavior is that coffee addictions are
starting with the younger generation (I can attest to that). The
majority of coffee drinkers get started around the age of 18, but
recently that age has dropped to the ten-to-14-year-old age group. The
younger they start drinking coffee, the stronger their addiction
becomes.
The average cup of coffee costs $2.98, according to the Zagat survey.
Meaning that habitual coffee drinkers pay $11.92 a week with one cup a
day, $47.88 a month and $572 a year. And that's just with one cup a day.
Personally, whenever a vendor, such as Starbucks, rolls out their seasonal coffee menu or offers new coffee blends like their Blonde Roast
or Vanilla Spice Latte, I can't help but try them out, causing me to
spend money on beverages I probably could have done without.
Over the years, we have also seen fast-food restaurants offer a variety of coffee drinks on their menus. McDonald's has the McCafe menu with an array of flavors for hot and cold coffee drinks. Dunkin' Donuts also offers a coffee menu with America's Favorite Coffee
-- you can even buy its coffee in stores to brew at home. This has
added to the convenience of coffee in a majority of quick-service
restaurants. The easier it is to obtain coffee, the more we will drink
it.
Recently, Burger King unveiled its new coffee menu with more than just an option of hot coffee.
The chain plans to offer iced coffees with a variety of flavors, lattes and potentially cappuccinos.
BK hopes to use this menu to compete with the likes of McDonald's and
other fast-food restaurants that offer coffee menus along with their
everyday food menus.
With more places offering coffee at a convenience for consumers, it
seems as though coffee addicts will not decrease their spending habits."
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