Hot Beverages are still HOT!

Whether they are helping us wake up in the morning, relaxing us in the evening, relieving stress, or just warming us up in the winter, hot beverages remain a hot item for Americans

Whether they are helping us wake up in the morning, relaxing us in the evening, relieving stress, or just warming us up in the winter, hot beverages remain a hot item for Americans. In a recent SupermarketGuru quick poll, we found 65% wake up with a hot cup of coffee, and more than half (51%) visit a coffeehouse at least one time a week, with 30% visiting two to three times a week. 

Although Americans seem to like their coffee in the morning, in the evening we found that 34% drink tea, 24% drink hot chocolate, 14% drink a cappuccino, and 12% drink coffee. We believe emotions and stress are playing a role in tea's ability to usurp coffee's historic position in U.S. household penetration. Precisely three out of four U.S. households (75.0%) purchased from the total tea category during the 52 weeks ended June 27, 2009, compared with 71.8% who bought coffee (prepackaged, UPC-coded products only), Nielsen consumer panel data show. 

Another interesting finding in the SG quick poll is that in most households (75%), members of families share different tastes in hot beverages when it comes to coffee, tea, hot chocolate, etc. One would think because of this single serve beverage systems would be more popular. However, only 17% said they own a single serve beverage system. But for those that consider one of these machines, the most important aspect is the quality of beverages it makes (40%), and secondly, the ability to make beverages at home and save on expenses (33%). Eighteen percent said the ability to make a variety of beverages was the most important aspect. 

We also asked our readers where they buy their coffee machines. Looks like the department store is the most popular place to shop (48%) for coffee makers, online came in second (17%), and home stores came in third (16%). Nine percent buy at warehouse clubs and only four percent buy them in grocery stores.