Coffee Trends in 2018 - from Cold Brew to Super Coffee
Coffee itself is a trend but what is happening around it during the year 2018? Will there be a new cold brew coffee? What is the role of barista in 2018? What’s the most exciting brewing method? As a barista, it is important to follow what’s going on in the coffee scene, we often are the ones to introduce the trends to the cafés and customers. What do you think is the most exciting coffee related trend this year? Here are my predictions for coffee trends in 2018.
Super coffees
From butter in coffee to golden/pink/ube-lattes – coffee is going healthy and it totally makes sense. Instead of pressing juices and making smoothies in the morning, why not to have all the superfoods in your coffee cup. Morning coffee in 2018 includes maca, protein powder, spices and even collagen powder!
Quality batch brewing
Demand for speciality coffee is growing and with that comes the need to brew it in larger amounts. Pour-over methods are perfect to highlight the nuances of the coffee but to be honest, it requires a lot of resources, especially time as well as deep understanding of the coffee itself. When the coffee is brewed by a machine, the result is consistent. Therefore I predict that in order to answer the growing demand, batch brewing has to step in. Nowadays automatic machines are great quality, and a great way to save time, money and baristas hands. When the machine does the brewing, there’s more time for barista to share the stories about the coffee and in general give a top-notch customer service!
Machines challenge (or help out) the barista
Don’t worry, there’s still need for baristas but maybe the barista will focus more on being there for the customers, not only performing the technical labour behind the espresso machine and pour over station. Machines are already able to do latte art, pour over and grind by weight. Design becomes more and more important, espresso machine becomes a central part of the interior. Check this to get the point.
Extreme visuality in coffees
It all started from rainbow lattes, last year we saw glitters and unicorns, it is sure that in 2018 baristas have to focus more effort towards the visuality of the coffee. Instagram is probably the biggest tool for baristas to search for inspiration and network with the barista community, so the opportunities there are endless. The crazier, more colourful or more random the product is, more likely it is to go viral in Instagram. Look for trending hashtags! We have already seen pink, green, black and purple latte, what is the colour of 2018?
All about the origin
In 2018 it goes without saying that coffee is all about the origin. The more stories one can share about the farmer, the bean, the process - the better. Coffee can never be a local product here in Nordics, so the stories are the best way to bring the origin closer to the customer. Pictures and videos are great tools to share the love! Remember that there is a story behind every single coffee cup.
Experience first
In 2018 the emphasis in the experience around coffee will be even bigger (if that’s even possible). Barista courses, taste journeys, multisensorial coffee events and what not will become even more popular. Coffee is not just the coffee itself. Coffee subscription models will bring the speciality coffees in customers’ door steps, so in cafés baristas will need to find the ways to upgrade the coffee experience by introducing new brewing methods, coffee varieties and all in all bring added value to the customer visiting the café.
Nitrogen in coffee, what’s next?
From regular cold brew to nitrogen in coffee. Coffee has taken the form of a chocolate bar as well as the ice cream. Interesting to see what coffee innovation pops up this year? I think it has to do with playing with a texture of the coffee and I’m pretty sure it involves bubbles :)
