Global Coffee Inc
The Coffee Market
During the past few years in the United States, the American coffee market has experienced unparalleled growth. The United States imported close to 1 million metric tons of green coffee in 1994, valued at $2.5 billion close to 10% the total dollar value of all US agricultural imports. Because the United States grows a minimal quantity of coffee, Kona coffee from Hawaii, it is the leading importer country of coffee in the world. Colombia, Brazil and Mexico as the leading exporters of coffee to the US.
The US coffee market can be divided in two broad categories: specialty and commercial coffee. There are two major species of coffee arabica and robusta. Arabica coffees are grown at high altitudes and are meticulously graded and separated by bean size and density. Only the top 10% of all coffees have enough flavor and quality to be selected as specialty coffees. Commercial coffee would encompass all those coffees that have the robusta bean or arabica coffees of lower quality. Both the specialty and commercial categories of the market have enjoyed upward growth in regards to total dollar sales for the last fifteen years. These values correlate to the shown increase in US import values of green coffee for wholesale.
The specialty coffee industry has demonstrated 100% growth from $750 million in 1990 to $1.5 billion in 1995. The specialty coffee industry is expected to generate revenues of $5 billion by the turn of the century, a remarkable growth of 225% by the turn of the century. More important, the specialty coffee industry has more than doubled its share of the overall coffee retail market during the last decade. The specialty coffee industry is expected to own 38% of the total coffee market by 1999.
The increase in actual volume terms for the specialty coffee market can be further observed in the growth of specialty coffee sales for household consumption. Supermarkets will lead this segment of the specialty coffee retail channel, as they increase to provide higher quality beans and a broader product mix to their customers. It is worth noting that beans stores, specialty food stores, gift and housewares stores and other stores are included in the gourmet food outlet.
Specialty Coffee Market  Demographics
The average American consumed an average of 1.7 coffee cups in 1995, down from 1.9 cups in 1993, according to the National Coffee Association. Even though per capita consumption of coffee has no come back to the levels of the sixties, it has remained at a steady level since the eighties.
But the average numbers of cups consumed by coffee drinkers has increased in recent years. The average number of cups of regular coffee consumed by coffee drinkers increased 6% to 3.81 cups a day from 1991 to 1993. This represents the largest level of coffee consumption by coffee drinkers since 1979, when U.S. coffee drinkers consumed 3.6 cups a day.
More significant has been the changes in the demographic profile of the coffee drinker. Specialty coffee has benefited from the increased awareness of babyboomers of the higher quality and broader variety that specialty coffees offer versus regular coffees. "Though baby boomers didn't want to drink more coffee, they were willing to pay more for it  as long as the coffee was upscale," mentions Money magazine. Baby boomers, equipped with higher disposable incomes and developing taste preferences are clearly driving the growth of the specialty coffee industry.