Interesting - Coffee joints in U.S. by states

[packman]

Is it my imagination or those states with fewest coffee stores mostly Repuke states?

[unblock]

1. i think it has more to do with average daily temperature

warmer states don't seem to be as much into a beverage usually served piping hot (yes, i am aware of ice coffee.)


of course, there may also be a correlation between average daily temperature and and political leaning....

[Sherman A1]

3. Agreed

I am sure that the climate has much more to do with it than the political leanings of the state or region.

[yellowdogintexas]

21. I don't know about other places but the Kentucky folks I grew up with

did love their coffee. My parents and relatives drank it for breakfast, lunch and supper, except for a few of the elder ladies who drank strong hot tea. In really hot weather we'd have iced tea for lunch. Sweet of course.

My grandmother made iced tea which looked like coffee and very sweet. It was divine. Her coffee was so dense we used to joke that we had to have scissors to cut it off when we poured it. The last time I was in her house, she had been living elsewhere for 5 years and the house still smelled like coffee.

[janterry]

26. I remember driving down through S. Carolina in 1998

and stopping in a very small southern dinner. The waitress said she knew what ice coffee was, because a northerner had ordered it just the week before - and when she didn't know what it was - asked for a large glass of ice with his coffee .

Now it's ubiquitous, of course.

[DFW]

30. That doesn't hold here in Europe

In Italy, France and Spain, there are coffee places almost every ten steps.

[MicaelS]

2. I would rather drink unsweetened ice tea with lemon over coffee any time.

Even if it's freezing outside. But, I'm from Texas.

[Submariner]

4. Dunkin has these strawberry covered honey dipped donuts that should be regulated like Crack cocaine

Very addictive along with an iced mocha coffee. We have Dunkin Donuts joints across the street from each other in many places so you don't have to cross the road for your coffee fix. Very convenient.

[Hassler]

5. Given the high numbers in the Pacific Northwest, I'd say it's because of the lack of sunlight in the

Winter months.

[yellowdogintexas]

22. that and the chilly damp climate. The other heavy use state is

Massachusetts. This does not surprise me; I lived in Boston for a while and those folks LOVE their coffee.

Notice the domination of Dunkin' Donuts on the Eastern Seaboard. Massachusetts definitely runs on Dunkin'

[SWBTATTReg]

6. There are lots of coffee shops not included in this survey. This only includes the 3 major ...

chains. Just in my neck of the woods in STLMO, there are at least 4-5 coffee shops, of which only one is a Starbucks, all within 1 mile of me. There are probably more shops, but this was just off the top of my head.

[Voltaire2]

12. It seems to show only the largest brand

in each state. Where is the data that indicates it only looked at these three chains?

[SWBTATTReg]

13. I may have assumed wrong but the orig post showed only 3 chains up there, seemed to indicate ...

to me at least that it looked at these 3 only. If not, misleading. Around me there are lots of independent coffee houses all around me. I suspect that they only looked at the major chains and numbers involved, based upon the sheer number of coffee houses around me alone in STLMO.

[Voltaire2]

16. I think it's just largest chain in each state.

But that alone shows how dominant Starbucks is, with DD a distant and regionally limited 2nd.

[Buzz cook]

7. Hate that Starbucks is the default.

In Washington there are many more independent coffee places than there are Starbucks. That is also true of Oregon as far as I've seen.
There is a small coffee shack that I've gone to for many years. About one year ago a Starbucks opened in the same lot and the small business is still in existence and looks like it will continue to do so.

[crazycatlady]

14. I lived in Washington in 2016

And there was some great independent and small chain coffee shops. I miss Dutch Bros.

[ploppy]

29. I do love Dutch Bros

Their story is so great you can't not love them! Plus good coffee and they are a good company to work for.

[crazycatlady]

32. there was another that I liked too but the name escapes me

I used up my frequent buyer club card (buy 10 get 1 free) on my last day there. My Dutch Bros one is still in my wallet.

[FakeNoose]

8. I never go to coffee shops, but I drink a lot of coffee

... making mine at home.

[Liberty Belle]

9. Red state residents are too poor to afford upscale coffee shops. It's not the weather.

I live in city on the outskirts of San Diego, one of the sunniest places in the nation. Our small town of 9 square miles has a dozen independent coffee shops plus several Starbucks outlets.

Coffee houses also have a traditionally liberal image as places for free-thinkers to gather and for students to come use WiFi in today's times for studying.

Red states have lower incomes, lower minimum wages, and lower education than blue states in general. Florida which has a lot of tourists and snowbirds from the northeast is an exception in having lots of coffee shops.

But in general, poor folks can't afford several buck for a gourmet coffee drink and uneducated folks don't need Wifi for college studies.

[packman]

10. Yep, you nailed it

Coffee houses also have a traditionally liberal image as places for free-thinkers to gather and for students to come use WiFi in today's times for studying

[yellowdogintexas]

20. Red states also have lots of wide open spaces with no population

to speak of. Only larger towns have the big chain coffee spots.

These country folks get their coffee at the Farm Co-op, McDonald's or a locally owned breakfast and plate lunch cafe. When I was kid, the farmers all came into my grandaddy's store to hang around the furnace and drink coffee or cokes.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

25. Six-ounce Coke and bag of Planter's Peanuts - snack of the gods for po' folks!

When I was a kid in TN, at the crossroads stores that combo was a very special treat. I think they were a nickle each.

Almost never had soft drinks at home, just tea and coffee....

[LuvNewcastle]

28. Times are changing some, but people in the red states aren't coffee snobs.

They drink whatever brand is on hand and they don't need a barista to fix it for them. They make it in restaurants with one of those Bunn coffee makers that holds three pots, usually two for regular coffee and one for decaf. Not as much variety, but also not as pretentious.

[malchickiwick]

11. The next time I get a decent espresso at a Starbucks will be the first time.

That swill tastes like battery acid.

[Major Nikon]

17. Starbucks isn't geared towards those who drink straight espresso

They are making milk based drinks which bizarre milk to coffee ratios and other sugar/flavorings added that insure the quality of the espresso is not at all important.

That being said, there's very few coffee houses that do espresso very well as most follow the Starbuck's plan of doing mostly milk based drinks.

[2naSalit]

15. We don't have many Starbucks in

Montana, but we have lots of coffee shops by other companies. This map is not very informative.

[Blue Owl]

18. I brew my own...

But glad to see Minnesota is a "Caribou" state!

[LAS14]

19. Looks like a combination of wealth and cold. nt

[Totally Tunsie]

23. I'd add point of origination to the reason for concentration.

Starbucks is out of Seattle, WA - thus heavy coffee interest, followed by neighboring Oregon.

Dunkin is out of MA, so heavy coffee interest there and in surrounding New England.

Both brands are heavily advertised in their geographic areas and have heavy concentration of shops.

Not surprising, IMO.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

24. Coffee joints and coffee consumption are not the same.

Would like to see a map showing state total consumption, including home and office use.

Thoughts:
* Regions with high poverty won't cater to coffee stores much (more likely at home or McDonald's, etc.).
* Regions with low alcohol consumption would likely use more coffee and tea.
* Colder regions likely to consume more coffee, hot chocolate and hot tea.

Coffee drinking was very traditional among men when I was a youth in the South, even in warm weather - although iced tea was more prevalent in the summer.

Thanks for the OP, Packman (as I sip my coffee)......

[tymorial]

27. We do love our Dunkin Donuts here in Rhode Island and Massachusetts

I can count at least 6 Dunkin Donuts within a 4 mile radius from my home and all of them carry a steady business.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

31. The chart doesn't show the bazillions of small independent coffee shops.

I can think of four just within walking distance of my house; I think there are a couple dozen, at least, in Minneapolis (not even counting Starbucks, Caribou or Dunn Bros.). In these parts it might be to some extent because of the coffee-drinking heritage of the descendants of Norwegians and Swedes, who drink an insane amount of coffee.