The way Americans get their morning caffeine jolt is changing, with a significant percentage turning to canned brews along with diet sodas and energy drinks, the latest Restaurant Trends Report by Toast found.
The report, released today, compared 2025 to the previous year and found increased demand for barista-crafted drinks, but a decline in regular hot, drip coffee sales as well as cold brew.
“Coffee has been a hot topic in the last few years – but more recently it isn’t a new viral coffee drink that has been grabbing attention. It’s been the price increase that has been turning heads,” the report noted.
Bad weather, tariffs, supply chain glitches and growing demand pushed ground coffee prices up as much as 40% last year and coffee shop prices up 21%.
Across the Toast platform, the median price of a cup of regular drip coffee at restaurants hit $3.65 in February, up 4.3% from last year. In January 2024, the price of a cup of coffee was $3.25.
Bulk prices were expected to ease later this year amid increased rainfall in Brazil and expected limits on tariffs although transportation costs remain an issue.
Between January 2024 and December 2025, Toast analyzed same-store restaurant sales to determine consumers’ changing habits.
The losers:
- Green tea: -4.9%.
- Black tea: -3.4%.
- Regular hot drip coffee: -3.3%.
- Cold brew: -2.2%.
- Regular soda: -2.3%.
- Cappuccinos: -0.4%.
- Frappés: -0.6%
The winners:
- Energy drinks: +8.7%.
- Herbal teas: +8.6%.
- Diet sodas: +7.4%.
- Lattes: +4%.
- Espresso shots: +3.3%.
- Americanos: +1.4%.
- Macchiatos: +0.6%.
“It turns out that instead of mugs, Americans were reaching for cans for their caffeine boost,” Toast said, although handcrafted barista drinks are still popular.
“Americans are willing to pay for these handcrafted drinks. They may be pulling back on orders that they can easily make at home or buy at the grocery store, like a regular drip coffee or a cold brew. It could also signal that while people may be drinking coffee at home, others value curling up in a cozy cafe with a specialty-crafted drink.”
High-quality at-home espresso machines are a costly investment and may be for those in higher income brackets. Also, pulling shots and steaming milk is time consuming and takes more than a little skill, Toast explained.
It could also be that the rise in prices means Americans visiting coffee shops are springing for the treats, the report added. For example, maybe a consumer isn’t a daily latte drinker, but if they happen to visit a café they may be more inclined to spring for a treat – especially if they’re cutting back on other everyday items.
“It could also signal that people with higher disposable income aren’t slowing their spending, and buyers have less price sensitivity when it comes to their daily coffee run,” the report said.
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