We’ve talked a lot about coffee flavor, and that’s for a good reason.
People love it!
Whether you like it blended, frappéd, and topped with whipped cream, pride yourself on perfecting your pour-over, or just need it to be a functioning human being, people can’t get enough of it.
Research from Circana found that coffee outpaced both tea (+4%) and carbonated beverages (+3%) in year-over-year servings growth.
This is in line with data from Mordor Intelligence, which estimates the Coffee Market size at USD 138.37 billion in 2025 and expects it to reach USD 174.25 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 4.72%.
However, as the popularity of coffee grows with consumers, so do the opportunities for innovative and delicious ways to jazz up their java.
That’s why, from the best part of waking up to one of our Top Trending Dairy Flavors for 2025, we’re spilling the beans on all things coffee and coffee flavor profiles.
Coffee: A Universal Language
For many, coffee and its corresponding ‘culture’ is associated with one of the following: Europeans leisurely drinking espressos at a picturesque cafe, a specialty pot with baristas that wear beanies even in the summer, or something on the ranging from your standard diner ‘cup of joe’ to the American mega-chains where they can amazingly customize everything about your drink, except, spelling your name correctly.
Yet, the long history of coffee and its caffeinated future shows that it might be among the few things people worldwide can agree on.
From its humble discovery by Ethiopians in Africa to its journey through the Middle East and Mediterranean by way of Yemen in the 15th century, to the fact that three of the top five coffee-producing nations are in South America (1. Brazil, 3. Colombia, 4. Honduras), a love for coffee truly is a universal language.
Not to mention that Asian countries, long associated with their rich history of tea culture, are now some of the leaders at the forefront of coffee innovation.
Like Japan, with its focus on precision brewing techniques that have propelled specialty coffee forward, or South Korea’s unique and immaculately designed cafes and convenience store beverage concoctions that are stuff influencer dreams are made of.
Some of them do become viral sensations, like the now-famous Dalgona coffee. Then there are others, like the classic Vietnamese coffee made with sweetened condensed milk, which is also gaining greater popularity worldwide.
This obsession with coffee transcends international borders, and chefs, baristas, and developers across the globe are working hard to push the boundaries of coffee innovation.
Culinary Coffee Flavor Creations
One way coffee has and continues to go beyond the brew is its incorporation into a wide array of dishes and cuisines.
“Coffee is so much more than a well-loved beverage designed to give your daily activities a jumpstart,” says Anne Druschitz, Associate Principal Scientist – NA Applications & Corporate Research Chef at Edlong. “You can find it in many classic and contemporary recipes in the US and internationally.”
She adds, “From a culinary perspective, the unique flavor of coffee isn’t only for sweets. It adds a roasted & earthy complexity to barbecue sauces and gravies. Pitmasters love to use ground coffee or espresso powder in rubs and marinades for cuts like steak, brisket, ribs, and tri-tip since it pairs perfectly with smoky & savory proteins.”
Though there is plenty of experimentation and opportunity to incorporate these earthy roasted nuances into savory dishes, coffee continues to shine in sweets.
Emily Sheehan, Edlong’s Manager – EMEA/APAC Applications, goes as far as saying, “I think it’s safe to say that Coffee can almost be added as the fourth member in the typical trio of sweet brown flavors – Vanilla, Chocolate, and Caramel.”
It’s easy to see why this is so, with its familiarity and growing popularity in categories like ice cream, custards, bakery, as well as in elevated desserts and cocktails like tiramisu and espresso martinis.
For many of these, it’s due to how well the roasted complexity and slight bitterness perfectly balance with the rich, creamy, and subtle sweetness of dairy. Not to mention how well it pairs with other indulgent profiles like chocolate, caramel, hazelnut, and vanilla.
“The versatility of coffee when it comes to flavor pairings is leading to interesting and trendy combinations like pistachio, olive oil, and even cheese foam, which is a blend of cream cheese, heavy cream, and powdered sugar whipped together and dolloped on top of coffee to give a cloud-like latte experience,” explain Druschitz.
These exciting specialty of a coffee flavor is great for brick-and-mortar businesses looking to drive foot traffic, but it can also be an opportunity for innovation.
Home Brews: Bringing the Coffee Flavor to the Kitchen Counter
According to Mintel, US consumers who say they are buying more takeaway coffee than a year ago cite their top reasons as trying out new drinks (45%) and trying more premium coffee (41%).
This could be because less than a quarter of consumers (23%) associate these specialty or premium beverages (latte, cappuccino, etc.) with something that is “made at home”.
While this isn’t something that looks to be going away anytime soon, according to Sheehan, this provides an opportunity for developers.
“With coffee shops staying as a big part of social interaction, flavored and quirky coffees are here to stay,” says Sheehan. However, she adds, “Then again, so are syrups creamers.”
Creating line extensions or LTOs (limited-time offerings) of creamers and syrups is a simple and cost-effective way to provide consumers with a unique coffee flavor they can enjoy from home without needing an expensive imported espresso machine or a perfectly manicured mustache.
Then there is also cold brew.
Cold brew, and cold coffee in general, has seen a 15% consumption increase over the past four years and now accounts for nearly ⅓ (32%) of all coffee consumed at home.
Often coming in a concentrated form, these cold coffee products allow consumers to easily recreate their favorite beverages and even come up with their own creations.
Yet, making these specialty coffee flavors available from home isn’t even the most exciting area of coffee flavor innovation.
Caffeination Innovation
In 2024 vs. 2023, coffee-flavored snacks experienced a 22.1% increase in product launches.
With options like mocha mousses, cappuccino cupcakes, and so many more, desserts and sweet snacks are one area of endless possibilities and will continue to drive this growth.
On the other hand, coffee-flavored nutritional drinks saw a 38% increase in product launches over this same period.
This coincides exceptionally well with the parallel trends of functional beverages, convenient ready-to-mix (RTM) and ready-to-drink (RTD) beverages, and even plant-based.
Expressing her optimism about the convergence of these trends, Sheehan says, “We’re already starting to see it, but soon there will definitely be a surge of superfood coffee and coffee-flavored products with exciting infusions of functional ingredients like turmeric, matcha, and adaptogenic mushrooms.”
She continues, “The vegan and plant-based trends are going nowhere. These and flexitarian consumers continue to be drawn to coffee and coffee flavor profiles complemented by the growing selection of plant-based milks, including popular new picks like pistachio milk, walnut milk, hazelnut, and tiger nut milk.”
Regardless of which trend your coffee or coffee-flavored product looks to capitalize on, there can always be taste and texture challenges that prevent your product from being the best part of your consumers’ mornings…or anytime, really.
From the off-notes to textural challenges or even just finding the perfect profile for your application, a flavor that can enhance your coffee products from Edlong can be the solution.
Whether it’s masking, improving mouthfeel, sugar-free sweetness enhancement, or a custom profile tailored to your specific application, find out how our experienced team of experts can help you redefine the brew experience for your consumers.
About the Authors:
Anne Druschitz, Associate Principal Scientist – NA Applications & Corporate Research Chef
Topics: InnovationSweet dairy flavors
Resource Type: Article
Resource Region: US