In 2016, Coca-Cola announced that it will be entering the Ready-to-Drink (RTD) coffee market in the first quarter of 2017. Their tea brand, Gold Peak Tea, entered bottled coffee + tea options into an already-burgeoning coffee market in 2017. Geoff Henry, Vice President Tea & Coffee for Coca-Cola announced, “we are excited to introduce new ways for people to enjoy the brand. Our new [drinks] feature our signature high quality ingredients and distinct taste for a delicious pick-me-up anytime of the day.”

Research and Markets valued North America’s RTD at $2.06 billion in 2015 and expects a $300 million increase by 2020. How has Coca-Cola done in establishing their share of the market? Quite well, considering they’ve had volume, distribution, unmatched capital, and market savviness on their side. Some believe this is merely a tool through which to flaunt the company’s riches, rather than a long-term investment.

Coca-Cola’s success is not expected to be short-lived, but how will their reincarnated drink, Coca-Cola Plus Coffee, fair in the US market?

Why Coca-Cola Entered the Coffee Space

Coca-Cola epitomizes Americana; it is the beacon of hope for some, it is the treat after a long day for others. As health awareness rises, there is a notable decline in U.S. soft drink consumption; the U.S. saw (by volume) a 1.2% decline in 2015, compared to 0.9% the year prior. However, America’s beloved soft drink giant is by no means approaching dangerous territories of shrinkage. As the third wave of coffee stays strong and the RTD market continues to grow, Coca-Cola has intelligently claimed their share of the coffee space.

RTDs and Third Wave Specialty Coffee

RTDs are a gateway to third wave coffee culture, but they lack so many facets. Producers of RTDs struggle to satisfy regional tastes and preferences, and Coca-Cola is no different. Offering a variety of flavors is a start, but there is still no comparison to specialty coffee. It is grand to have flavored, iced coffee drinks ready in grab-and-go fashion. As for you third wave coffee shops + connoisseurs, do not fear! For nothing can compete with freshly roasted beans, precisely brewed, and served to perfection.

Coca-Cola Plus Coffee

Do you remember Coca-Cola Blāk? If not, you truly shouldn’t feel remorse. Within a year of its release, Coca-Cola decided to pull their coffee-flavored soft drink. Blāk was released in August of 2006 and off all shelves by 2008. (Note: Coca-Cola Blāk is not to be confused with the coffee dispenser machines in Mexico of the same name. The latter were released by the largest Coca-Cola bottler in Latin America in 2010.)

Coca-Cola is at the coffee + soft drink venture again with Coca-Cola Plus Coffee. The drink is available in Australia and Japan as of September 2017; the release date in the U.S. is currently unknown. Canned coffee drinks, such as Coca-Cola Plus Coffee, are no new phenomenon to Japan, but Australia is a different story.

The goal of Coca-Cola Plus Coffee in Australia was to provide a refreshing new way to consume the second most consumed beverage in the country. Unlike in Japan, the second biggest development struggle, only to perfecting the taste, was to make the drink sugar-free (an important marketing factor in Australia).

Coca-Cola Plus Coffee features the classic taste of Coke paired with Brazilian coffee and featuring caramel undertones. The drink has 14 g of caffeine for every 100 mL – about 1/3 of that in a standard cappuccino. As with most anything, the responses to Coca-Cola Plus Zero span a spectrum, though there has been an overwhelmingly negative response to the product. We encourage you to peruse the web for reviews, if you feel so inclined. If you can get your hands on one yourself, even better! Let us know what you think.

No matter what their latest venture, Coca-Cola has a stronghold in the coffee space and they will not be budging any time soon.

If you’ve tried Coca Cola Plus Coffee, let us know at hello@beangenius.com
If you want to try making your own Coca-Cola Plus Coffee, follow these folks
If you need some coffee for the recipe above or merely for your daily existence, buy some here

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2017 is a year of great growth for the specialty coffee industry. These are our top stories from 2017 :

Blue Bottle Coffee and Chameleon Cold-Brew are bought by Nestle

2017 turned into a buying spree for Nestle: they acquired the majority stake in Oakland’s Blue Bottle Coffee and bought Austin-based Chameleon Cold-Brew Coffee, shocking the coffee industry by taking these big players off the market. Both companies provide Nestle with different avenues through which to infiltrate specialty coffee. If these acquisitions tip off anything, it’s that interest in specialty coffee is on the rise and involvement is being considered by some of the largest corporations in the world.

SCA turns to Dubai

The Specialty Coffee Association is hosting multiple events in Dubai for its upcoming competition series. Many of the largest and most prominent specialty coffee companies dropped their membership and pull of support from the global association; event attendees of varying walks of life could face threat and injustice in Dubai. The announcement to host in Dubai has further splintered SCA’s influence over the coffee industry

Coffee + Beer + Coffee Beer

Annual Uppers & Downers Festival showcase two of our most progressive craft cultures: coffee and beer. Good Beer Hunting and World Barista Champion Stephen Morrissey collaborate to host a day of coffee, beer, and coffee beers. We’re hoping to see exponential growth for craft collaborations in 2018.

Cold Brew On the Rise

Cold brew is a phenomenon in the coffee space; the market grew 460% from 2015 to 2017. Not only is cold brew popular in coffee shops, but claims its niche as a grab-and-go grocery store drink. For many drinkers, cold brew has acted as the gateway from chain coffee shop experiences to third wave specialty coffee.

Peet’s Coffee and Starbucks in Shanghai

Starbucks Coffee continues to make a strong push overseas with the opening of its first Reserve Roastery in Shanghai. Although there are about 1,300 Starbucks locations in China, opening the Reserve shows interest in providing higher quality product in hopes of specialty coffee growth in the country. Starbucks isn’t the only brand to notice that China is one of the largest untapped specialty coffee markets. Peet’s Coffee opened its first overseas venture : a flagship cafe and 4,000-square-foot roastery in Shanghai, China.

Evolving Coffee Talk

Coffee conversation once focused on the health v. detriment of coffee, the fallacy of decaf, and why everyone loves dark roast. As the third wave culture continues to emanate into the lives of the most passive drinkers, the conversation shifts. Specialty coffee is pervading the corners of this earth, folks are spending $914 on a single cup, Q Grading and Cupping are becoming increasingly respected occupations…

Here’s to what’s to come in 2018

Cheers + Happy Holidays

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2016 was a busy year in coffee, as expansion and progression took center stage. Large companies expanded and small roasting teams continued to push the bounds of coffee quality. Here are our picks for some of the most noteworthy events in coffee from 2016.

Howard Shultz stepping down from Starbucks

Howard Shultz stepped down as CEO of Starbucks to head up the opening of over 100 reserve roasteries in 2017. This expansion is due to give Starbucks Reserve a strong hold on the specialty market nationwide.

BeanGenius Marketplace Launched

The BeanGenius marketplace is now the largest specialty coffee marketplace on the internet. Representing more than 25 independent coffee roasters, the marketplace gives specialty coffee lovers a place to try new coffees as well as subscribe to old favorites with the click of a button.

Sudden Coffee Raises Loads of Money

Instant specialty coffee got a huge boost from investors this past year, as San Francisco’s Sudden Coffee fundraised $2.7 million on Kickstarter. Sudden Coffee’s freeze dried specialty coffee is redefining the possibilities for specialty coffee production and consumption.

Brewing Device Production Facilities Keeping Busy

Creating a brewing device was one of the biggest trends of 2016. A week didn’t pass without a new contraption promising to change the way we brew, grind, extract, and make coffee at home. Our favorites from the past year were the Voltaire Smart Grinder, Pascal Press, Flair Espresso Machine, and the Precision Presser by Kitchen Aid. All of the newest and greatest gadgets give the technical brewing feinds many quality options to explore.

No Cold Brew Left Behind

2015 was simply just the beginning of the cold brew coffee revolution. As bottling and popularity grew in 2016, top coffee companies launched multiple products in the space. Innumerable companies have been born in the past year to fill this specific niche. Even Starbucks and Coca-Cola entered the market with a smooth, rich, low-acidity coffee beverage. Ready-to-Drink coffees are the gateway to specialty coffee for many casual coffee drinkers. Keep an eye out on the scene; expansion is not due to end any time soon.

Happy 2016 everyone!

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The coffee events from the past year turned out to be one of growth and acquisition from the biggest names in the industry. Investments in the future were placed on the table while others expand into new exciting verticles.

Peet’s Buys Everyone

2015 was a busy year for Peet’s Coffee & Tea (owned by JAB Holdings, see #2 below) who purchased Portland’s beloved and majority ownership stake in Chicago’s Intelligentsia Coffee. News of both sales came weeks apart and shifted power in the world   of specialty coffee. Stumptown has announced plans for retail expansion in New Orleans and Austin amidst the change in ownership. Therefore, with both coffee companies growing at an aggressive rate over the past couple of years, this swift shift in ownership leaves many with curious eyes on the future of both companies.

Keurig Sells For $14 BILLION

Keurig Green Mountain, the manufacturers of coffee flavor pods and coffee makers, was purchased by JAB Holding Co. for $13.9 billion, the same holding company that has ownership of Peet’s Coffee & Tea as well as Caribou Coffee. This acquisition gives the Keurig brand a jump start with multiple competitors entering the single serve pod space the past couple of years. For those of you doing the math, yes, that means JAB Holding Co now owns Keurig, Stumptown, Intelligentsia, Peet’s and Caribou.

Cold Brew Coffee’s Coming Out Party

Whether it’s in a can, from a tap, in your fridge or at your favorite local coffee shop, cold brew has arrived in 2015. As the cold, crisp, smooth taste hits your lips you begin to forget all about that old iced coffee, making way for the coolest beverage in coffee to take center stage. Both Starbucks and Peet’s rolled out cold brew programs this past year in their retail stores as specialty coffee roasters start to bottle, can, and distribute their finest slow brewed brews. Cold brew pioneers such as Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Cuvee Coffee, and La Colombe Coffee have been canning their cold brew as well as having it on draught leading Caribou Coffee being the first national chain to mainstream nitro cold brew, signaling that the rise of cold brew has begun.

Blue Bottle Eliminates Wholesale

With specialty coffee growing throughout the country, many are falling in love with the “third wave.” Coffee companies continue their wholesale dominance of the market as more and more devotees of specialty coffee are born every day. Blue Bottle Coffee is zigging to that zag by pulling back and giving their consumers a uniform experience from order to sip. Stepping aside from their wholesale accounts and making their coffee no longer available to baristas not of their own training opens the doors for quality control with a focus on dedication to retail. In conclusion, with this past year bringing us their first café and roastery in Japan, the Blue Bottle imprint is now global and shows no sign of slowing down.

SCAA Eliminates Latte Art Championships And Regionals For The US Competition Series

Surprisingly, the Specialty Coffee Association of America has canceled the Latte Art Championships citing low participation. Although the competition is only two years old, it’s been a crowd favorite at SCAA and we’re sad to see it not given a chance to build momentum. The SCAA also dismantled regional representation of its barista competition series and switched to a more general selection process, leaving those looking to strut for their region disenchanted. We’re still eagerly awaiting the announcement for the list of competitors to be released. Rather than a regional qualification, baristas with the proper credentials are to register for the available slots with each company being allowed to enter up to three competitors.

Dunkin Donuts To Your Door

With a Southern California expansion well underway, Dunkin Donuts has doubled down on the on- demand donut and coffee market by giving customers the option to have their favorite beverage and deep fried treat brought to them through the on-demand service DoorDash, making the morning coffee run appear with the press of a button. We’re looking forward to seeing what the union of on-demand delivery services and smaller specialty coffee roasters brings us, as this can only be a win for all lovers of specialty coffee.

That’s a wrap; wow, what a year! 2015 brought us coffee news and developments we could have never predicted and we eagerly await to see what 2016 brings. We’ve got big things already in the works – Happy New Year everyone!

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