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It’s hard to deny that there is a lot of change within the coffee world and that it can be hard to keep up, even for the specialist coffee operators. Driving this change are the three Ts – Tastemakers, Technology and Transparency.

The tastemakers are those people at the edge of what’s cool, what we’ll be eating or drinking next. And they can’t get enough of coffee. The coffee tastemakers lean towards the younger age of the spectrum and consider themselves to be adventurous connoisseurs, according to Mintel. They are seeking out more and more information on coffee, and as a result are demanding lighter roasts that bring out more floral and fruity notes in their coffee as well as different brewing methods (which they’re more than happy to pay a premium for).

Technology has transformed coffee. As well as providing a way to educate coffee drinkers, it has given the tastemakers a platform. Instagram is full of them using speciality coffee to earn social kudos from their peers. Great coffee and in particular latte art, is social media gold for your business. 7 million + and counting hashtags for #latte is proof of that.

Lastly, coffee has benefitted greatly from both the industry’s ability to provide more transparency and consumer demand to know more about the story of their coffee. As a result, we’re seeing how information on coffee origin and processing can drive consumption, with Mintel research indicating that origin is used by coffee drinkers to denote the quality of the coffee offering.

So, the coffee arena is challenging, but profitable and highly marketable. Give Bailies Coffee Roasters a call if you want to talk about how coffee can drive your business.