Coles 2025 Predictions

Predictions for 2025

1. Decaf coffee to break out of the stereotypes and become more of a normalized and appreciated option within specialty coffee roasters. Industry people will recognize that people who consume decaf coffee ACTUALLY LIKE the flavours of coffee and are true champions of our industry, hopefully leading to a shift in the narrative of that segment. Decaf and Low-caf to become more prevalent.

2. Innovation in the way we package both roasted and green coffee. It seems we’ve hit this standardization across the industry when it comes to packaging. For green coffee, the global standard is a plastic bag that’s hardly more durable than an industrial garbage bag – it’s permeable by light, oxygen and really only resistant to moisture. Is that enough?

3. For roasted coffee, we’re further advanced with most roasters using a mix of plastic, aluminium and paper (for quality, though quality and sustainability in this category don’t mix). So we have the oxygen, the moisture and the light barriers; however, I don’t believe the bag is the end game for roasted coffee and I think we’ll see some break through in both these categories.

4. Canada to win a World Coffee Championship (for the first time)

5. Cezve to become a more widely appreciated & explored brewing method in cafes

6. An evolution of cafe menus, to include Signature beverages (think mocktails, not frappuccinos) and become a standardized feature at specialty coffee shops. Beyond signatures, “classics” start to show up as regular offerings, suchas “freddo”, “dirty”, “magic” and become similar to a cocktail bar with the likes of “negroni” or “old fashioned” being standardized across the world.

7. Cafe and brand design to move away from being minimal, sterile, surgical, with little-to-no decor and shift to have all sorts of trinkety, experiencial, feature-pieces with lots of colours and conversational elements in the style. More easter eggs, more personality – I love easter eggs.

8. Geisha to become standardized and offered in most specialty cafes.

9. Same with Engineered coffees (infused, co-fermented, advanced processing)

10. Less usage of Engineered coffee in coffee competitions and more of a shift back toward classic, variety and terroir driven coffees.

Reading: Diving into Water for Coffee by Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood and Christopher Hendon. Because even on holiday, Cole can’t resist a deep dive into how water chemistry shapes our brews. Nerdy? Sure. Interesting? Absolutely.

Watching: Cole’s been catching NBA games on holiday, claiming it’s serious “team strategy” analysis. Every play gets a critique, and it’s all in good fun….until the refs make a bad call. Then it’s serious business with some yelling!

Listening: Tuning into the ultimate relaxation track…..the sound of waves rolling onto the shore. Perfect for unwinding and letting the rhythm of nature set the tone for a holiday reset. It’s not just a playlist…it’s a vibe. See you in 2025!

Brewing: a new lifestyle!

A nice submission sent to us this week…a sweet photo of Kozi Brew Bar in Jawa Barat, Indonesia.

respond with a photo of your brew bar or get creative with an AI generated scene and we’ll feature and share in an upcoming week of BTD

Distance: Buy the Drip run club. Clocking some kilometers. One person ran a marathon this week, big ups to them. Help us push a few more kilometers through this week?

“Every kilometer is a promise you make to yourself—keep pushing, keep believing, and let’s cross the finish line together.”

Want to join us as we hit the road? Let’s connect on Strava! or, join our Whoop group – just respond to the email and let’s grind together!