Perhaps contrary to popular belief, coffee consumption is lower among younger Americans than older ones and, according to data from YouGov Profiles, Gen Z members are significantly less likely than older generations to say they drink coffee.
In fact, almost two-thirds of Gen Z-ers (63%) don’t drink coffee at all – that's almost double the percentage of Millennials (33%). The proportion of Gen Z-ers who have 3-4 cups of coffee per day (4%) is four times less than in any other generation, meaning that even those who drink coffee, do so lightly.
Where do coffee drinkers get their fix?
Further analysis shows that US adults do most of their drinking at home or at work rather than at cafés. The most popular option for home/work coffee drinkers is to enjoy a single drink each day, with a lower proportion in all age groups drinking 2-4 cups a day - the next most popular choice. The data shows that 41% of the Silent Generation drink coffee once a day at home or work- that’s almost three times the number of Gen Z drinkers who enjoy the same amount (14%).
The data shows the opposite trend when we look at drinking at cafés. The proportion of Silent Generation café-drinkers (2%) is only one third of the Gen Z (6%) once-a-day café-drinkers.
The total proportion of Gen Z-ers that either drink coffee less often than once a week or never drink (15% and 38% at home, 32% and 37% at cafés, respectively) outweighs the proportion that do drink more than once a week. That’s consistent with our data that Gen Z members are doing without coffee in their daily routine.
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Methodology: YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data is nationally representative and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race. Learn more about Profiles.
