Many of you will agree that coffee is so much more than just a breakfast beverage, and DeLonghi certainly agree.
The leading coffee maker brand in Australia commissioned a report to be conducted by independent research company Pure Profile. The DeLonghi National Coffee Report takes an in-depth look at the coffee habits – addictions, obsessions, you choose the word – of Australian coffee drinkers and comes up with some surprising results. And some slightly worrying ones too I thought.
The report shows that the Australian obsession with coffee has become so strong that now it has become another basis of social stereo-typing. If you’re game, I challenge you to read on and see what your coffee choice says about you… I’m still deciding if I even want to know – perhaps I’ll leave those snippets of information until last because there was lots of other interesting information uncovered in the study.
Should we start with some ridiculously high numbers? Like the one that expects Australian coffee lovers to spend $773 billion on coffee beans and products in 2013 alone, certainly the sign of a thriving industry.
90% of Australians over the age of 18 drink coffee, which is a very high percentage yet still not quite as high as I would have expected. Almost one third of these drink 3-4 cups a day but I’m curious about the percentage of those who drink more than that because that’s where I would be. It seems that Victorians are the countries biggest coffee drinkers with 64% in the 3-4 cup range compared to 50% in Western Australia and 43% in South Australia.
The next SCARY statistic, I thought anyway, is that the average Australian coffee drinker spends $1825 a year on takeaway coffee.
Demonstrating the passion for coffee is that 51% of survey respondents said they would prefer to attend a coffee appreciation course than a wine tour, and I must admit I am firmly in that camp, and 1 in 2 said they have a coffee machine in their home (I’m in that camp too.)
There are two major reasons that 68% deem a home coffee machine a necessity; it saves a great deal of unnecessary spending on takeaway coffee and it allows much greater control to ensure you get the coffee that is perfect for you every time.
Now we get to the social and demographic breakdown. There are some interesting little snippets here.
The best time to appreciate a coffee for those aged 24-29 is 10am, it’s the only thing that gets them through the morning. Another one I agree with but that 10am coffee has to be at least the 2nd of the day or I couldn’t make it to 10 and we won’t go into whether or not I’m in that demographic.
The biggest coffee addicts are those working in Media and Marketing, 43% of them can’t go more than four hours without a coffee and admit that they are well and truly hooked.
23% of Sales workers on the other hand like to down play the amount of coffee they drink in front of others.
The most dependant though are Emergency Services workers with 50% admitting to a quick coffee as soon as they get out of bed compared to 43% of Government Workers and 42% of those in Banking/Law/Finance.
Now are you ready to find out what your coffee choice says about you….. have I dragged out the suspense long enough.
The most common coffee, according to the report, is the Flat White and those who drink it are down-to-earth, plain and boring types.
Cappuccino drinkers on the other hand are more likely to be the life and soul of the party, they are perceived as fun, this is the second most popular coffee.
Espresso lovers are doing something right because 1 in 5 see them as successful.
Latte drinkers are high maintenance
Macchiato drinkers have been labelled as arrogant by a huge 45% of respondents.
These labels, perceptions, stereo-types are already affecting Australian coffee drinking habits because 1 in 3 aged in the 24-29 range admit that they change their preference depending on who they are with, 10% of them order a stronger coffee in front of friends and colleagues so they look like connoisseurs of fine coffee. It’s not just that age group though because lawyers, bankers and accountants are just as guilty – 1 in 6 of them order a stronger coffee in meetings to show off so they sound more sophisticated.
Interesting reading… my label changes with my mood but I am definitely always in some camps – big coffee drinker with a NECESSARY machine at home.
What does your coffee say about you?
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!