• The coffee industry is heavily trend-driven; matcha, cold RTD coffee, and functional beverages are the ones defining 2025.
• Black Sheep Coffee saw its sales of lemonade and matcha-based beverages increase by an impressive 315% in April. Caffè Nero’s cold drink sales rose 56% year-on-year in July.
• Some specialty coffee roasters want to capitalise on these lucrative trends, but compromising quality or brand values could mean losing loyal customers.
• UK specialty coffee roaster Square Mile recently launched two blends roasted specifically for cold coffee, catering to the growing demand for cold drinks while maintaining quality standards.

Specialty coffee has long advocated for “pure” coffee experiences – single origin pour overs and clean washed espresso, for instance. But the wider coffee industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation; new, lucrative trends are emerging, and some roasters don’t want to lose out.

Matcha is becoming the new darling of cafés, beloved by Gen Z as a canvas for customisation. Cold coffee, often in RTD format, is reigning supreme, often outselling “traditional” hot coffee drinks at chains like Starbucks. Functional ingredients, such as adaptogenic mushrooms, are also gaining traction as the health and wellness movement proliferates. And these trends are becoming harder to ignore as margins are increasingly squeezed.

Specialty coffee roasters then find themselves at a crossroads: Do they diversify and capitalise on these trends to stay resilient and adaptable? Stick to their core values of quality and “pure” flavour? Or find ways to combine both?

I spoke with Hestie Roodt at Square Mile to find out more.

You may also like our article on key trends we’ve seen at coffee events in 2025 so far.

Which trends are redefining coffee in 2025?

The coffee industry has long been highly trend-driven, reshaping how operators cater to rapidly changing demand and how consumers experience coffee.

Over the last few years, a number of notable, gainful trends have emerged that are fundamentally changing the café landscape. 

“One of the trends we’ve noticed is product diversification – offering more choice, variety, and ways for people to enjoy their coffee, alongside coffee-adjacent products like tea and chocolate,” says Hestie Roodt, the Head of Marketing and Strategy at Square Mile, a specialty coffee roaster in London, UK.

In today’s visual-driven age, matcha is proliferating. Revered for centuries in traditional tea ceremonies, the Instagrammable vivid, bright green tea powder is now increasingly a base ingredient for customised drinks in coffee shops.

From small specialty coffee shops to bigger chains, many are serving matcha drinks. In 2023, matcha-based drinks saw a 202% increase in sales in the UK alone. The global matcha market is projected to reach over US$4 billion by 2025 and nearly US$7 billion by 2033, signalling a craze that’s unlikely to slow down anytime soon.

The cold coffee boom is also in full swing. According to the National Coffee Association’s fall 2023 National Coffee Data Trends report, consumption of cold brew in the US alone has increased by a staggering 300% over the past seven years. In its 2023 third-quarter financial report, Starbucks stated that cold drinks represented an impressive 75% of US sales.

In the last couple of years, cold coffee’s popularity has only increased. The UK’s Caffè Nero recently reported that its cold drink sales rose 56% year-on-year, led by the iced velvet americano and sparkling spritz launches, contributing to a 12% increase in global fourth quarter revenues.

RTD formats are often the most lucrative for cold coffee. Projected to be valued at US$43.8 billion by 2028, the growth of the RTD coffee market is outpacing that of the global coffee industry.

Functional coffee is on the rise, too. Although black coffee’s health benefits are well-documented, the trend of adding ingredients to boost health, energy, focus, and productivity is accelerating.

Adaptogenic mushrooms like lion’s mane, reishi, and chaga are increasingly found in RTD lattes. Ingredients like MCT and collagen are other popular additions, enjoyed by younger consumers for their purported health benefits.

Why Gen Z is the driver of change in coffee

One thing is common among these emerging trends in the coffee industry: Gen Z.

While older generations primarily stick to black coffee and traditional milk-based beverages, Gen Z consumers are opting for cold coffee, which serves as the ideal canvas for customisation, creativity, and self-expression. 

Essentially, Gen Z seems to think black coffee is boring. A 2024 survey reveals a significant decline in its consumption among US consumers. Only 18% of them prefer to drink their coffee black – a 56% decrease from figures in 2022 – and are more likely to add flavour enhancements. 

For younger consumers, coffee is an ingredient rather than the focus of the drink. Highlighting terroir, origin, and processing – hallmarks of specialty coffee – isn’t enough to appeal to Gen Z, who often consider third wave coffee culture pretentious.

Adding flavours, syrups, cold foam, and functional ingredients to their coffee drinks is a form of escapism for today’s younger consumers, who fully embrace “little treat culture”: the growing trend of indulging in small, affordable luxuries, often as a way to cope with stress and boost mood.

Gen Z is also becoming increasingly health-conscious, largely attributed to better awareness of health following the pandemic and greater exposure to content like “FitTok” – a corner of TikTok that features workout plans, recipes, and other fitness-related content, which has garnered more than 64 billion views.

Functional ingredients massively appeal to this demand, as does matcha. Made from finely-ground green tea leaves, matcha has a high concentration of antioxidants, which may help reduce the risk of certain diseases. It also contains L-theanine, an amino acid that can promote relaxation and mental clarity.

Should roasters tap into these trends?

Specialty coffee stands firm to its values of quality, transparency, traceability, and sustainability, solidifying its point of differentiation from the wider coffee industry.

However, as it becomes increasingly harder to manage a coffee business in today’s tough economic climate – marked by record green coffee prices, rising inflation, and soaring operational costs – gainful trends in the coffee industry can become more appealing. Specialty coffee roasters have the opportunity to attract new, younger audiences, diversify their revenue streams, and bolster brand appeal.

It can be a tricky path to navigate, though. Some trends, such as the viral “coffee buckets” or incredibly popular Dubai chocolate, are largely driven by social media clout. Following these fads can easily lead to a loss of authenticity, and they can fade out as quickly as they proliferate, meaning roasters and coffee shops may end up losing money in the long term.

Instead, specialty coffee roasters looking to capitalise on emerging trends must ensure quality remains central to their product development process.

RTD coffee has become one of the most effective ways for roasters to tap into cold coffee and convenience while retaining a focus on quality. Pioneering third wave brands like Intelligentisa, Madcap Coffee, Stumptown, Blue Bottle, and La Colombe have all launched vastly popular RTD cold brew and lattes, using their well-known espresso blends as the base ingredient.

Many smaller roasters have followed in their footsteps, partnering with companies like Hardtank to develop a range of RTD coffee, tea, and clean energy drinks.

There are other creative ways for specialty coffee brands to balance quality and trend innovation when tapping into cold coffee.

“Cold brewing and canned cold brews have always come with a challenge: coffee oxidises quickly in those formats, which compromises the end product and flavour,” Hestie says. “We’ve long been fans of the Japanese method for making iced coffee – brewing hot directly over ice – for its ability to preserve, and often even enhance, a coffee’s flavour profile.”

Square Mile recently launched two blends roasted specifically to be brewed and prepared cold, demonstrating new, creative ways to capture the cold coffee audience.

“Choc Ice and Fruit Punch are a response to a growing consumer demand, a win for coffee shops, and a more intentional approach to creating the flavours we want from an iced filter or cold brew,” Hestie says.

“We started with the end experience in mind; the roast profile on Choc Ice is slightly more developed and textural, designed to stand up beautifully as a cold brew or espresso-based drink over ice,” she adds. “Fruit Punch, on the other hand, blends components from Kenya and Ethiopia to amplify the vibrant, lively sparkle you find in the fruity-floral spectrum of these origins.”

Both blends also tap into the demand for nostalgia and indulgence, evoking memories of childhood sweet treats. We have seen similar trends in specialty coffee, such as cereal milk lattes, popularised by content creators like Morgan Eckroth.

Staying true to what works

Following trends often requires constant innovation, which can be especially demanding in today’s challenging coffee landscape. Instead of chasing endless fads, specialty coffee roasters should focus their attention on what will work best for their individual brand.

“There’s a time and place for everything, and being led by our curiosity rather than trend has always been more rewarding for us,” Hestie says. “How to keep up with trends while retaining your focus on quality will always depend on your business objectives and, ultimately, what experience you want to offer your audience.”

In many cases, tapping into trends will result in attracting a new, often younger audience. But simultaneously, specialty coffee roasters need to appeal to their core, loyal customers, who may be less trend-driven.

The launch of more affordable sister brands, such as Madcap Coffee’s ‘Dito’, is one example of how to achieve this successfully. The bright, aesthetic packaging and more affordable price point target younger consumers, while preserving the premium position of other coffee offerings.

“Quality requires consistency, and our focus on this, as well as ethics and values, never wavers. This doesn’t mean you can’t offer something fun, engaging, different, or thought-provoking; these elements need to work within those values and are never mutually exclusive,” Hestie says.

Ultimately, for specialty coffee roasters, this means that rather than reshaping what coffee should be, tapping into trends is about expanding what coffee can be. Whichever trend-driven products they decide to develop, the focus should be on enhancing the beverage experience, rather than diluting it.

“What we set out to do is create an experience and product that will challenge ourselves, delight our customers, and improve everyone’s coffee experience,” she adds.

The prominent trends we’re seeing in 2025 – matcha, RTD, functional ingredients, and cold coffee – will likely form part of specialty coffee’s future.

Roasters face a decision: tap into these trends to attract a new, younger audience, or double down on a “purist” approach that appeals to more traditional specialty coffee drinkers.

For the former, quality needs to be at the forefront if specialty coffee roasters are to stay true to their brand values. Because as we change how coffee is consumed – adding ingredients or drinking it cold – or even pivot towards non-coffee drinks like matcha, the fundamentals of quality, consistency, and flavour remain unmatched.

Enjoyed this? Then read our article on why specialty coffee roasters need to find new ways to diversify.

Photo credits: Square Mile

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