In recent memory, unicorn lattes, monster shakes, and avocado toast, for one reason or another (we’re looking at you Instagram), have all been elevated from intriguing niche menu items to full-blown national food obsessions. While some trends are a relative flash in the pan, some items are indicative of broader, long-lasting changes in ways that consumers change their dietary habits. Here’s a roundup of café-related food and beverage trend predictions from around the web, which will either take off, or peter out in 2019.
Globally Inspired Breakfast Menus
Driven by consumers with more sophisticated palates, increased travel experience, and better access to ethnic foods, customers are looking to experience flavors from around the world, according to the National Restaurant Association and af&co. Whether it’s Mexican chorizo scrambled eggs, Danish ableskiver pancakes, or Filipino longsilog bowls, diners are gobbling up global flavors to start their day.
Cold Brew Crash
Nation’s Restaurant News predicts the fall of cold brew in the coming year. The trade pub cites that critics of the brew method often find that nuanced flavors of the bean are often lost during extraction. The writer suggests that new chilling equipment entering the market can chill hot-brewed coffee to quickly exact temperatures, making hot-brewed cold coffees more enticing for operators.
Alt-Milks Reign Supreme
The rise of veganism and plant-based diets also means that companies around the country are trying their best to capitalize on changing dietary habits with nut-, grain-, and legume- based milk products to replace traditional dairy gallons. According to Pinterest, Uber Eats, Nation’s Restaurant News, and Delish, we can expect oat milk to only continue its meteoric rise as the country’s favorite dairy alternative. Pea milk is also expected to start taking off this year.
New Beverages Abound
Hospitality consultancy firm af&co released a report of more than 40 food, drink, and wellness trends to expect this year. One such prediction is that the market is going to see a wealth of new beverages vying for consumer dollars. The firm expects to see new drinks such as hot nitro coffee, carbonated coffee, high-alcohol kombucha, moringa tea, cheese tea, and butterfly pea tea all become trending drinks in the new year.
