Coffee Still Reigns as U.S. Java King

In a wakeup call for specialty coffee suppliers, a survey released Tuesday said a regular cup of coffee is still by far the java purchase of choice. In tandem with tea, regular Joe carries a formidable share of all the caffeinated competition. Most of the survey's respondents -- 60% -- reported that they had drunk either basic coffee or tea at a limited-service restaurant in the previous month. That's slightly behind the 62% who said they'd had a soda.

"Consumers who regularly purchase coffee on their way to work are motivated by the convenience of the location, but, significantly, they are actually more motivated by the quality of the coffee, making them important loyal customers who return often," Joe Pawlawk of Technomic, the market research group that conducted the study, said in a news release.

Retailers Get a Coffee Buzz

Despite the marketing push behind lattes, cappuccinos and other blended and frozen drinks, 14% of respondents said they were buying more hot coffee than they did two years ago. That's significant, considering that the average price of a cup of coffee climbed from $2.25 in 2008 to $2.36 in 2010. It's not getting cheaper in 2011 either, with wholesale prices nearly doubling in the past year. See a recent DailyFinance breakdown of the best brews for the buck among the fast-food coffee chains.

Meanwhile, the price of a cup of tea -- or a glass of iced tea -- rose from $2.40 in 2008 to $2.57 in 2010, according to the research. Green tea, known for its antioxidant health benefits, was the fastest-growing type of tea. It's "of interest" to 73% of consumers, Technomic says.

Overall, retailers experienced a modest 15.9% increase in coffee sales from 2007 to 2010, partly due to rising coffee costs. But big-box stores and other mass merchandisers saw a whopping 53.1% spike in coffee revenues during the same period.