2008 Caffeinated Cities Survey

I drink a massive amount of coffee, often 3-4 cups per day.  I love it.  I love the morning ritual.  I love the afternoon "coffee break." I love the smell of it.  I love the flavor.  I love the diversity of coffees from around the world.  I have stopped drinking coffee at times and I don't get headaches, I would just miss it.

When I read that HealthSaver, an emerging health care discount service, recently commissioned its second annual Caffeinated Cities Survey, I was intrigued.  Conducted by PMR, a total of 2,005 telephone interviews were conducted during the period July 1 to August 21, 2008.

Using a randomized sample of households in the 20 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the U.S., a minimum of 100 consumers were interviewed in each of the 20 markets.  Each interview lasted 5-7 minutes, the sponsor of the research was not revealed and no incentive was offered.  

What follow are what I think to be some of the more interesting results.

The top 10 most caffeinated cities for 2008:

#1 Tampa
#2 Seattle
#3 Chicago
#4 New York
#5 Los Angeles
#6 Baltimore
#7 Miami
#8 Boston
#9 Houston
#10 Phoenix

The top 10 least caffeinated cities for 2008:

#1 Riverside
#2 Atlanta
#3 San Diego
#4 Minneapolis
#5 Dallas
#6 St. Louis
#7 Philadelphia
#8 Detroit
#9 Washington
#10 San Francisco

• 49% of 2008 respondents drink coffee everyday (the same percentage from 2007)
• Seattle consumes the most coffee with over one-half (59%) of Seattle respondents drinking it everyday.  
• Coffee continues to be the most consumed caffeinated product.
• About one-third (35%) say they never drink caffeinated coffee.  
• The next most frequently consumed caffeinated products were cola and tea both at 20%.  
• Tea had a 9% increase in consumption from 18% of respondents in 2007 to 20% in 2008.
• Do you think you are “addicted” to caffeine? 27% answered yes in 2008, down from 29% in 2007.

 - Dave Koch