Which countries drink the most coffee? I think Coffee and I think Italy (quality) and the USA (quantity). Well, I was wrong!
I came across some fascinating stats about the real state of play with coffee this week.
Coffee in Helsinki Market Hall
I already knew before I recently went to Helsinki, that the Finns drink a lot of coffee. They even had a Coffee Festival in Helsinki while I was there! I had no idea quite how much coffee Finns drink compared to other nations. According to the International Coffee Organization cited by traveller.com.au, the Finns drink a staggering 12kg per capita per year of the stuff. They only drank a mere 0.22kg of any type of tea. This makes them the largest consumers per coffee per head on the planet. Finland has 1.45 Starbucks stores per million Finnish.
How does that compare with other countries? Last year, 148 million 60 kg bags of coffee were produced across the globe. This is almost nine million tonnes of coffee!
Scandinavian countries also drink the most coffee per head, with Norway (9.9kg), Iceland (9), Denmark (8.7 kg) and Sweden (8.2kg) taking up the top places. Tea consumption in those countries sits around the 0.2 kg per person range. I have enjoyed some great drinks (and service) at Kaffitar in Iceland and Baresso in Denmark. Sadly Barresso is being replaced with the Swedish brand Espresso House which I do not like as much. That brand is also huge in Finland.
Across Europe
The Netherlands with their interesting Amsterdam “coffeeshops”, has a per capita coffee intake of 5.3kg. The country has 3.45 Starbucks stores per million people and drinks 0.98kg of tea.
Despite the stereotype, Italians drink just 5.8kg of coffee a year – less than half that of the Finns. This puts them in 13th place globally. Starbucks intends to open 300 stores there with the first one opening next year in 2018. CEO Howard Shultz has often said a trip to Italy in the 1990s inspired him to start Starbuck. Italians drink just100 ml (0.1 litres) of tea a year.
French people enjoy 5.1kg of coffee a year and Germans 5.5kg.
Americas
The average USA citizen drinks 4.2kg of coffee per person annually – a third of what the average Finn puts away. They also drink just 0.33 kg of tea per person. I was surprised considering how much iced tea I have drunk across the USA! In 2011 Americans drank 95 litres of Coca-Cola products – the fourth highest in the world. Mexicans drink almost double that. Americans also have 41 branches of Starbucks per million people, the second biggest saturation in the world after Monaco.
Canadians enjoy 6.67 kg of coffee a year- more than the Italians and half a kilogram of tea per year. They have 39 Starbucks stores per million people. Most Candanas get their coffee and doughnut fix from the iconic Tim Hortons chain (now owned by Burger king) with 60% of all take away coffee bought from Tim Hortons. Canadians also drink 61 litres of Coca-Cola products per year.
Down Under
Australians often consider themselves to be the biggest coffee drinkers in the world. At a lowly 3.97kg of coffee consumed annually, they don’t make the top 10! Aussies also throw down 0.74kg of tea. Starbucks has struggled in Australia, almost closing at least twice. There are are just 22 Starbucks stores in Australia (fewer than New Zealand) meaning there is one store for every 1.11 million Australians. The country has a number of good chains and many independent coffee outlets. NZ has 24 Starbucks stores giving five stores per million residents. Kiwis drink slightly less coffee at 3.7kg per head and slightly less tea at 0.65kg per head.
Cheering myself up after a shoulder dislocation with an amazing Vietnamese Iced Coffee!
In Vietnam, a coffee exporter, citizens enjoy 1.34 kg of coffee and 0.81 kg of tea a year.
By contrast, coffee producer Gabon’s citizens drink just 20 grams of coffee and 130 grams of tea each per year. Nearby, Cameroon citizens drink 180grams each. Indonesia which exported 660,000 tonnes of coffee has a per capita coffee consumption of almost a kilogram.
The countries that drink then most tea are Turkey (3kg), Ireland, the UK Russia and Iran! Very few transactions can go without a good cup of tea! Turks drink just 0.74kg of their notoriously strong and delicious coffee per year.
Where have you most enjoyed drinking your coffee? I have to say I go with:
- Iceland,
- Finland
- Australia
- Vietnam
- Turkey.
For tea, Turkey and Jordan win for me.
The Verdict:
Definitely weird and Wonderful!
Each week, I scour the internet for something weird or wonderful that has happened in travel land. if you come across anything weird or wonderful that I should be mentioning, please let me know! My Twitter handle is martinjcowling
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Starbucks sells bad coffee, which is really good compared to other coffee places in the US. That is why nobody want to drink starbucks coffee is Australia. It also not 100% aussie iwned))
I would have thought that we, Brits, rank quite high in terms of tea drinking… 🙂 -Nicky
Yes -the results were a surprise in that area!