Despite the proliferation of coffee shops, more Americans are buying coffee makers and brewing at home, according to a recent study by the National Coffee Association, an industry group. Almost every style has become more popular since 2020, from simple drip machines to brewers that grind beans and brew to order. For example, ownership of countertop espresso machines has increased by 50 percent, while the number of finicky, slow, manual drip coffee machines has increased by 20 percent.
“Home brewing of espresso, whether filter or espresso, is definitely on the rise,” said Chi Sum Ngai, co-founder of Coffee Project, which operates several New York City coffee shops as well as a training center and an online store.
Ms Ngai said her customers like to own multiple types of brewers, particularly manual coffee makers such as pour-over or Chemex brewers and moka pots, and that they like to use each for a different type of coffee.
“We get calls and emails all the time from people asking for recipes for brewers or gifts for the person in their life who is a 'coffee person,'” Ms. Ngai said. (Coffee-making recipes detail the ideal ratio of water, beans, and steeping time, as well as water temperature and grind size.) She's even seen an uptick in sales of mineral extracts, which allow customers to customize the flavor profile of their water.
Jane Abrahams, a professional organizer, said the recent obsession with coffee supplies is part of our post-pandemic move toward cooking more at home.
“Everyone wants a coffee area and a coffee station,” said Ms. Abrahams, who has designed dozens of them. They typically include storage space for different types of coffee makers, from basic Keurig coffee makers to $5,500 Jura coffee makers (but not so much for the French press, the only type of coffee maker that has seen a decline in popularity since 2020).
Part of this could be due to more people working from home. But Ms Ngai believes it's more about interest in the art of making coffee: “People really go out of their way to enjoy coffee at home.”