What’s the most popular beverage in America? The answer may surprise you (actually it won’t: it’s coffee). Plus, a private equity firm buys Bialetti, and the EU eases reporting requirements around its upcoming deforestation law.
‘New Report Reveals US’ Most Consumed Beverage’ – via Global Coffee Report
Twice a year, the National Coffee Association releases its National Coffee Data Trends report, which looks at how Americans consume coffee. We’ve been keeping you updated on key findings from the report for a few years. Although trends and consumption patterns change, the main takeaway year after year seems to be that coffee is very popular.
This year’s report, published on April 15, is no different. NCA data shows that two-thirds of Americans drank coffee in the past day—more coffee than bottled water, juice, tea, and soda. Coffee drinkers reported consuming an average of three cups every day.
The report broke down coffee trends broadly, comparing consumption habits from January 2025 versus the same month in 2020 (before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic). Coffee consumption is up almost 7% compared to 2020, and 46% of American adults enjoyed a cup of specialty coffee in the past day, compared to 39% in January 2020.
Many of the data points confirm the permanence of pandemic-era coffee trends, like more people are brewing coffee at home than five years ago: 71% of past-day coffee drinkers made their brew at home in 2025 compared to 63% in 2020. Out-of-home consumption, meanwhile, fell slightly compared to 2020.
Perhaps the most interesting data point from the report is that online coffee purchases have doubled over the past five years. While grocery stores remain the most popular place to buy coffee, the number of coffee drinkers who bought their beans online climbed from 7% in 2020 to 14% in 2025.
While the exact percentages may change slightly between reports, the overall trend points to coffee’s ever-increasing popularity. “Coffee holds a unique place in Americans’ daily lives—no other beverage is such a beloved and prominent touchstone,” NCA CEO William “Bill” Murray said in a press release.
“Coffee’s popularity brews big benefits for American coffee drinkers and the entire U.S. economy, and we expect America’s love affair with coffee to continue for many decades to come.”
‘Italian Coffee Pot Maker Bialetti to Be Sold to Hong Kong’s NUO Capital’ – via Reuters
A Hong Kong-based private equity company has agreed on a deal to buy the Italian company Bialetti, inventor of the iconic moka pot.
NUO Capital, a Luxembourg-registered investment firm headed by Stephen Cheng, will pay €53 million (just over $60 million) for 78.6% of Bialetti’s shares. Cheng is a member of one of Hong Kong’s wealthiest families.
Bialetti’s moka pot is an iconic and much-loved coffee brewer, popularized in the 1930s by the company’s founder, Alfonso Bialetti, and his son Renato. Much like the Chemex, a Bialetti moka pot is on display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. A 2010 study found that 90% of Italian households owned one of the company’s brewers.
However, the Bialetti company has suffered in modern times as sales of capsule machines surged. Bialetti’s debt climbed to €90.3 million (nearly $106 million), leaving the current owners struggling to cope with the repayments. The company had been looking for a buyer since 2023, and at the end of last year, news outlets began reporting on a potential acquisition.
While private equity firms have been busy snapping coffee roasters and cafe chains, they have also targeted machine manufacturers and suppliers. Perhaps the most high-profile example was when JAB Holdings, which owns Peet’s and Stumptown, purchased Keurig Green Mountain in 2016. Other examples include Cortec Group buying coffee cleaning equipment brand Urnex in 2015, the Canadian private equity company Tiny Capital acquiring a controlling stake in AeroPress in 2021, and Digital Fuel Capital buying Seattle Coffee Gear in 2020.
The Bialetti deal still needs to be approved by the Italian government, and once that happens, NUO Capital plans to buy the company’s remaining shares. “We have lived through complex historical moments, but with passion, dedication and team spirit we have always managed to look ahead and grow the company,” Bialetti Industria president Francesco Ranzoni said in a press release. “Nuo’s entry now represents a strategic lever to further strengthen the brand and consolidate its positioning on foreign markets.”
‘European Commission Softens EUDR Reporting Requirements’ – via Daily Coffee News
The European Union’s landmark deforestation regulation (EUDR) has been looming over the coffee industry for several years, threatening to change how European importers and roasters buy coffee. Companies face rigorous reporting rules to comply, which makes it challenging to source coffee from specific regions and small farmers who lack the tools and infrastructure to meet reporting regulations.
Now, the European Commission has relaxed some of the requirements before the regulation comes into effect at the end of the year.
The EUDR was introduced in 2022 to ensure that companies importing products, including coffee, into the EU could prove that they did not contribute to deforestation. Environmental activists welcomed the regulation; however, many stakeholders and industry bodies opposed it due to concerns over compliance costs and possible financial burdens on smallholder farmers.
In November, the European Union delayed implementation of the EUDR by a year. It will now come into force at the end of 2025, but companies must still prepare to comply with complicated reporting rules.
To help with this, the EU Commission has eased some of the requirements, which it says will lower administrative costs by an estimated 30%. Among other things, companies can submit reports once a year instead of with every shipment. “The goal of these simplifications for due diligence statements is to ensure easy and efficient data entry for all users,” the commission said in a press release.
Large companies must begin complying with the EUDR on December 30, 2025; smaller companies have until June 2026. “We are committed to implementing EU rules on deforestation in a spirit of close partnership, transparency, and open dialogue,” said Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy. “Our aim is to reduce administrative burden for companies while preserving the goals of the regulation.”
More News
‘SCA Announces Host Locations For Two 2026 World Coffee Championships’ – via Sprudge
‘Cimbali Group Secures Landmark Victory Against Counterfeiting in China’ – via World Coffee Portal
‘The Instant Coffee Boom Is Changing Farmers’ Fortunes’ – via Bloomberg
‘Colombia’s Juan Valdez Plans to Open 16 More US Coffee Shops’ – via Daily Coffee News
‘The 16th Annual Sprudgie Awards Winners And Honorees’ – via Sprudge
‘São Paulo Develops New ‘Coffee Route’ For Tourism’ – via Global Coffee Report
‘Importer San Cristobal Expands to Peru with COOPAGRY Partnership’ – via Daily Coffee News
The Week in Coffee Unionizing
- Workers at Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, are unionizing. The Milwaukee Area Service and Hospitality Workers Organization (MASH) sent a letter to Fairwave Holdings, the private equity-backed company that bought Anodyne in 2023, requesting union recognition after most workers signed authorization cards. Anodyne has four cafes and a roastery in the Milwaukee area, and it has been among a string of acquisitions made by Fairwave across the Midwest and beyond in recent years.
- At Equator Coffee in Los Angeles, California, workers have voted to unionize with United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 770. “Upon the win of our union election, I’m incredibly grateful for the support of my co-workers as we come together to address our needs for steady hours, work meals, and a livable wage,” said organizer Nicole Territo. “Let’s elevate the specialty coffee narrative from social justice buzzwords to bold actions that honor both coffee quality and the fight for justice.”
- Starbucks has introduced a new dress code for baristas, stating the company wishes to “deliver a more consistent coffeehouse experience that will also bring simpler and clearer guidance to our partners.” However, Starbucks Workers United accused the company of ignoring more pressing issues—such as finalizing a first union contract—and “prioritizing a limiting dress code that won’t improve the company’s operations,” the union stated. “They’re forcing baristas to pay for new clothes when we’re struggling as it is on Starbucks wages and without guaranteed hours.”
Coffee and the Climate Crisis
Despite the EUDR’s aim to discourage buyers from buying goods from deforested areas, coffee production contributes to deforestation globally. Although not on the scale of cattle ranching or logging, clearing forests for coffee farming has destroyed about 130,000 hectares of forest annually over the past two decades.
However, as Simrin Sirur reports for Mongabay, coffee could also be part of the solution. New research from India shows that agroforestry-based coffee farms can help restore deforested areas nearby by providing seeds and seedlings.
In India’s agroforestry coffee systems, the seeds of native shade trees are generally cleared during canopy pruning. A team from the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) collaborated with farmers in Karnataka to examine the possibility of collecting these seeds and using them to regenerate nearby areas.
“In the past, some of those seeds might have survived and those trees might have grown, but today they’re getting slashed because farmers do not want trees growing in places that will compromise the productivity of their crop,” said Anand Osuri from NCF. Together with the farmers, Osuri’s team collected 14,000 seeds and 4200 seedlings over 12 months, growing them in local nurseries before utilizing them as part of local forest restoration initiatives.
Currently, most seedlings used for restoration efforts are sourced from public nurseries run by India’s forest department. However, many nurseries don’t stock what the study calls “restoration-relevant native trees” best suited to local planting. Using coffee farms as seed sources increased the number of native species available for restoration while reducing pressure on natural forests for seeds.
For such a project to be viable, local stakeholders say that more support is needed. “There should be a payment-for-ecosystem type model to support farmers when they plant more native tree varieties,” said C.P. Aiyappa, a coffee farmer and secretary of the Coorg Wildlife Society, “because they are not always commercially valuable for the farmer, particularly in the short and medium term.”
Beyond the Headlines
‘How Coffee Roasters Are Offering Formerly Incarcerated People a New Path Forward’ by Fionn Pooler
‘The David Buehrer Guide To Coffee And Food In Houston’ by Jordan Michelman
