Flat whites are the nation’s favourite coffee, preferred by 22% of coffee drinkers, narrowly beating the classic black Americano to the top spot.
Coffee subscription service Blue Coffee Box recently surveyed 1,793 coffee-drinking adults across the UK with a view to finding out more about their current coffee habits. Baristas have seen a gradual shift in people’s ordering preferences over time, and previous surveys of the UK’s coffee consumers have found that black coffees were the most popular style, before lattes crept into the lead. Now, flat whites have tiptoed into top position, with the classic black Americano and ever-popular latte taking second and third spots respectively.
– Flat whites are the nation’s favourite coffee order, preferred by 22% of coffee drinkers
– The Black Americano takes second place, with 22% of respondents favouring this brew
– The Latte takes third place, a favourite of 18.8% of respondents
If you’re not quite sure what the difference is between a flat white and a latte, the simplest way to explain it is that it’s all in the milk. Both coffees have the same amount of espresso in them, but flat whites are a stronger, more coffee-heavy option.
Lattes are served with steamed milk, plus an added layer of around 5mm of foamed milk to top.
Flat whites are topped with steamed milk too, but have a very thin layer of microfoam milk on top rather than a thicker layer of standard foamed milk.
Other findings from the Blue Coffee Box survey include the fact that 51% of coffee lovers stated they now have their own at-home coffee grinder, while cafetieres remain the most popular home brewing equipment, owned by 57% of respondents.
“Rather than reaching for a coffee to-go, many of us are now firmly in the habit of brewing our own gourmet coffee at home.” Says Blue Coffee Box co-founder Jon Butt.
Brewing at home has inspired a wave of creativity, fuelled by social media platforms like TikTok acting as tastemakers. As a result, there are countless novelty coffee recipes to be found, such as the dalgona coffee, bulletproof coffee, and the Cola cold brew. Despite all these trends, inevitably coffee lovers are left with the feeling of bean there done that and return to the classics.
Other ways to drink coffee that didn’t make it into the UK’s most popular picks include:
– Proffee: a TikTok trend for combining iced coffee with a protein shake
– Egg coffee: originally a popular Vietnamese creation, this drink using eggs instead of dairy went viral on social media over lockdown but hasn’t really caught on
– Cola cold brew: the simple combination of cold brew coffee and iced cola has proven to be a lasting cult classic, and with a scoop of ice cream you can create a drink that sits somewhere between an affogato and a cola float.
Read the full research on the Blue Coffee Box blog to find out more: https://learn.bluecoffeebox.com/the-uks-most-popular-coffees/
