Specialty Coffee Trends to Watch Out For in 2025

Decaf

It’s been a big few years for decaf, and we don’t expect that to change anytime soon.

This growth is partly due to health and wellness conscious culture that is seeping into food and drink, but it is also the specialty coffee industry responding to demand and addressing a lack of high quality decaf that has been a big oversight for some time.

James Hoffman's recent Decaf Project initiative has showcased the nuances of decaf coffee on a massive scale, and has got many to understand and even get excited by decaf in a different way.

Price rises and supply chain disruption

In December 2024, the volatile C Price (set by the stock-exchange and defined by supply and demand) hit an all time high, fuelled by climate disasters. The resulting supply shortages in Brazil and Vietnam, the world’s biggest producers of coffee, guarantee massive price rises as the only alternative is lower quality coffee.

This turbulence is far from the only thing affecting the coffee market.

The EU’s new deforestation regulations that were supposed to come into force in December 2024 have been delayed by a year to allow time for compliance. Companies importing and selling coffee in the EU must only sell deforestation-free coffee from land that has not been forestry since 2020, minimising the EU’s contribution to global deforestation.

While data requirements mean greater traceability and sustainability for green coffee, this could be a burden on small producers.

With demand for specialty coffee in Europe bigger than ever, it’s unclear if there’ll be enough compliant coffee to meet it and while the UK hasn’t announced any regulations of its own yet, we’re sure to see a knock on effect of UK roasters buying from EU based importers.

On a consumer level you’re likely to see more transparency from roasters and suppliers as they help you to understand the context of these price increases, so get to know the coffee supply chain!

Co-ferments

Co-ferments have been the flavour of the month recently, as the unique taste of coffee fermented with fruit is a great way for producers and roasters to stand out on the market. We tried everything from coconut to passionfruit in 2024 (to varying results…) but we’re excited to see if this was a flash in the pan or if this is a long term trend that can become better established in 2025.

In an industry that’s always seeking bright new things, we think we’ll be seeing plenty more funky flavours in our future.

AI

Love it or hate it, it looks like AI is here to stay. Artificial Intelligence is now being used at every level of the coffee chain all the way from cultivation to production.

AI powered analytics have the potential to manage and predict supply chains- increasingly important with unpredictable climate and economic factors at play.

With consistency and quality control setting specialty coffee apart, AI can help to remove variability across the roasting and brewing process.

However in an industry that is so directly affected by climate change, there definitely needs to be discussion about the risks and rewards of using this tool for coffee.

Home-brewing trends

The home brewing boom we’ve witnessed since 2021 has stepped up its game with major tech innovations. You’ll never pull us away from a trusty V60 and a Moccamaster still seems pretty hi-tech to us, but that hasn’t stopped brands from putting out luxury home coffee machines like the Sage Oracle, Ninja Luxe and even Fellow’s Aiden.

Like AI, these machines are all about automation and efficiency, letting you do it all with minimal effort. They make use of tech to make a great cup of coffee without the knowledge and experience.

Barista at home? We’re not so sure about that. All we know is that you still need the best quality beans to get the best quality coffee...