Millennials’ seemingly unquenchable thirst for coffee is helping to push global demand to a record just as supplies are tightening.
Americans are becoming java junkies at an earlier age, and young adults are increasing their daily consumption at a fast enough pace to make up for declines by older folks. The result: Demand in the U.S., the world’s top user, is set for an all-time high, and the trend among younger drinkers is also playing out in other big consumers including Brazil and even tea-loving China.

Fund Wagers
The coffee net-long holding jumped by 18 percent to 50,651 futures and options in the week ended Oct. 25, according to U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission data published three days later. That’s the highest since March 2008. Arabica coffee surged 6 percent to $1.655 a pound last week on ICE Futures U.S. in New York, the biggest gain since July. Prices traded at $1.6405 at 10:28 a.m. on ICE.
The coffee craze is also starting earlier in life. Younger millennials, born after 1995, started drinking coffee at about 14.7 years old, while older millenials, born closer to 1982, began at 17.1 years, data from the association show. Take the case of William Tuesca, a 21-year-old junior at Parsons School of Design in New York. He started drinking coffee when he was 5 and now drinks two or three cups daily, even more during mid-term exams, he said.
‘Fashion Symbol’
“In school, drinking coffee is also like a fashion symbol and an opportunity to socialize,” Tuesca said.Gains for demand mean that in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, world consumption outpaced... [read the full article here]