The trends to know in hot drinks

The vast majority of us stop for a cuppa at some point – or multiple points – during the day, but despite its popularity the hot drinks category could be described as being somewhat staid – indeed, a third of shoppers say that they feel uninspired by the hot drinks aisles so are looking for something more, according to The Knowledge Bank – but not any more. Innovations are rife, with convenience playing a sizeable role and communications around quality being more important than ever before. 

We may be known around the world as a nation of builder’s tea drinkers, but The Knowledge Bank research has found that the tide is turning – 44% of tea drinkers say that standard black tea is rarely the best choice for their tea needs, and 43% say that the difference in taste between expensive and cheaper teas is noticeable. What’s more, 48% sometimes drink tea as an alternative to alcoholic drinks.

“In terms of preferred flavours,” says Andrew Niven, strategic market intelligence manager at The Knowledge Bank, “chai has seen significant growth (+22% in value) year-on-year, and camomile has doubled. On the other hand, fruit flavours, mint and Earl Grey have all dropped in sales over the past year.” 

“The rising interest in chai reflects a growing interest in health-forward options; the tea is reputed to aid digestion, reduce blood sugar and boost heart health – all trends outlined by New Nutrition Business’s 2025 Mega Trends. Stocking a wider range of functional teas - those claiming benefits like improved relaxation or digestion – can also help reach the 50% of shoppers who trust herbal teas deliver on their promises.”

Convenience rules

In shoppers’ busy lives, convenience is often king, so it’s important to cater for those short on time as well as those who have the time to luxuriate in hot drinks as a mindful moment. According to The Knowledge Bank, 57% of coffee drinkers drink instant coffee at least once a day, while 81% have RTD coffee at least once a week.

Stuart Wilson, founder of Lost Sheep Coffee, advises that right now, premiumisation and convenience are driving growth in coffee.

“A few years ago, people wouldn’t have dreamt of putting the highest quality coffee into everyday products like RTD coffee cans or coffee concentrates. At Lost Sheep Coffee, we’re redefining expectations. The concept of taking speciality-grade coffee and putting it into products usually reserved for commercial coffee is exciting, and as a brand, we’re leading the way.” 

Indeed, according to Stuart, RTD coffee cans are now the fastest growing soft drinks sector1, fuelled in large part by Gen Z’s with a thirst for premium convenience and innovation. Lost Sheep’s signature Get To The Hopper coffee, which is 100% traceable, levels up their coffee cans – “ours are smooth, with no bitterness,” he says. “It’s about making speciality coffee more accessible. RTD’s are a great way to do that as you can just chill, shake and enjoy. You’re essentially getting a full barista experience, just like you would in a coffee shop, all with the shake of a can.” 

Lost Sheep has also innovated in the concentrate category, offering a blend of speciality grade espresso coffee and full coffee traceability – currently unique in the market, which some mainstream brands have started to dip their toe into. “What concentrate offers is the opportunity to create café-style coffee in the comfort of your own home, with no barista skills or expensive equipment required,” he says.

Cups Full has pioneered another opportunity in the convenience corner of the coffee market: premium bio-web coffee bags which deliver perfectly infused high quality coffee, with the sweetness and smoothness often associated with cold brew, in every cup. There are three variants in the range: Power, which delivers a nutty and chocolatey power punch of caffeine; Pace, a full-bodied blend which provides dark chocolate, roasted almond and brown sugar notes with a balanced hit of caffeine; and Peace, a low-caffeine option that tastes of caramel and milk chocolate.

“My theory is that coffee bags need to contain good quality coffee, because otherwise consumers won’t trust the coffee bag format – they think good coffee has to come with equipment, but actually it all comes down to the quality and grind of the coffee, and the format of the bag,” explains Katherine Willis, founder. “Once that’s been demonstrated to customers, they understand and are hooked.”

A key part of the quality story is sourcing, and Katherine has ensured that every bag contains top notch coffee by sourcing from ethically-minded producers.

Sourcing is also of key importance to the team at Darkwoods Coffee, who build relationships with sustainable growers to build their core range and allow them the freedom to experiment with heritage varietals. “We buy high volumes of coffee from our growers for our core blends, and when they have a speciality variety on offer we pay a premium for these and put them in our producer series or reserve range,” explains Damian Blackburn, director. “This showcases the best of what they’re doing each year and adds value for everyone.”

Creating fantastic coffee goes far beyond the varieties grown, and coffee obsessives are increasingly interested in finding out more about the science that goes on behind the scenes of their favourite cups. “Our producers love to experiment with what they grow and the processes they use to create the coffee; things like fermentation, drying, and how yeast and bacteria can be manipulated all feed into how coffee tastes,” says Damian.

That’s not to say that it’s a case of the more experimental, the better, advises Damian. “Truthfully, I think some of the options in the world of coffee that are a bit polarizing are very intense and almost umami-like – they’re bringing soy or meatier flavours which come about through experimentation with fermentation.” These can be a bit much even for coffee heads, says Damian, but especially for consumers who prefer a smoother, nuttier cup with low acidity. 

Rethinking tea

At Brew Tea, co-founder Phil Kirby is passionate about educating consumers about the potential of black tea. “As much as herbal and functional teas are a rapidly growing market, we’re finding that when you ask most people what comes to mind when they think of tea, they’re most likely to describe a black tea, likely served with milk and maybe sugar,” he says. 

Innovation is rife in the health-driven tea market, but that doesn’t mean that it’s the key to success across the board. Instead, Phil and the team at Brew Tea Co are finding that by opening their customers’ eyes to the variety of black teas available – that they can personalise what they drink according to what they fancy at the moment, for example a deeper Assam in the winter months, or a refreshing Ceylon in the summer – they are extending the potential and demand for quality black teas. 

Speaking of quality, as in so many things appearances matter. “We look for a whole leaf as this infuses its oils and flavours into hot water best,” says Phil. Once tea leaves are broken, they lose this ability to display their taste and quality as well which means that whole leaves come at a premium – but the experience they offer is far beyond what a mainstream teabag can offer.

Indeed, Phil says that loose tea leaves offer a valuable opportunity. “Seventy per cent of our subscribers buy loose leaf teas, which is why we’ve created a range of scoops, mugs and teapots so that they can create a moment.” This investment of time brewing the team – which isn’t sizeable, although Brew Tea Co suggest a minimum brew time of three minutes – reaps rewards for the consumer, to whom stopping to brew a cup or pot of tea represents a chance to pause and take some time away from their daily stresses. “This kind of ritual is a commonly recognised element of the coffee industry, but we’re working to translate this into the tea sector, too.” 

The hot chocolate opportunity

The world of hot chocolate is evolving, too. No longer content with the sugar-filled, chocolate-poor instant mixes that have dominated the market for years, shoppers are seeking the genuine article: hot chocolates that are rich, indulgent, and offer all the comfort you want from a cup of hot chocolate with none of the nonsense stuffed into low quality imitations… And this offers up a fine opportunity for indies.

“As in other food and drink sectors over the last decade or so, more and more discerning consumers are looking for hot chocolate that’s not just great tasting but ‘cleaner’, ie made with ingredients they can understand and trust,” explains Louise Collins, marketing communications manager at Booja-Booja. “Hot chocolate is no longer just an occasional drink for cold winter nights, it is now, as any glance at social media shows, an everyday, Instagrammable treat beloved by young and old alike.”

“For us, it’s always about being as inclusive as possible, appealing to ‘free from’ and ‘conventional’ consumers alike. And as a multi award-winning chocolate maker, with a diverse, discerning and passionate customer base, it was essential that any hot chocolate we launched lived up to our reputation. If it didn’t taste indulgently creamy and like ‘a truffle in cup’, it just wouldn’t do. Early taste tests showed we were on to something special and so we tweaked and tasted, tasted and tweaked until, finally, we were delighted with the results (as happy just isn’t enough!)”

‘Truffle in a cup’ is exactly right – for too long, hot chocolates have been bland, devoid of any real chocolate richness and full of the bad stuff. Thankfully, there are plenty of options to choose from within the fine food market which tick boxes all over the board – from taste and texture to quality and story.

Stock up on decaf

Decaf might seem like a low-level contender, but demand is rising – so smart retailers are stocking up. Research from The Knowledge Bank states that 40% of coffee drinkers are trying to reduce caffeine intake, and 49% would like to see a greater range of decaf coffee options. Meanwhile, the stats show that 32% of tea drinkers consume decaf, and 37% limit the number of cups they drink because of concerns over caffeine content.