# How people think about coffee brands and habits

Canonical page: https://data.verasight.io/culture/how-adults-think-about-coffee-brands-and-habits/
Published: 2026-05-11

> Featured topic in Culture.

About 91% have heard of Starbucks and 87% have heard of Dunkin', while the most common coffee-shop buying pattern is less than once a month.

## Overview: Coffee habits

Coffee brands have broad reach, but the behavior underneath is still modest: recognition is much wider than frequent coffee-shop buying.

About 91% have heard of Starbucks and 87% have heard of Dunkin'. Consumption is lower, with 53% saying they consumed Starbucks in the past year and 42% saying the same for Dunkin'.

## Starbucks and Dunkin' dominate awareness

Starbucks and Dunkin' are the clear awareness leaders. About 91% have heard of Starbucks, and 87% have heard of Dunkin'.

Consumption is still led by the same two brands, but at lower levels: 53% say they consumed Starbucks in the last year, and 42% say they consumed Dunkin'.

## Daily coffee is common, but shop buying is less routine

The most common coffee-drinking pattern is about once a day at 34%, followed by multiple times per day at 22%.

Coffee-shop buying is less frequent. About a third of Americans (33%) say they buy coffee out less than once a month, and another 22% buy it a few times a month.

## Most weekly coffee budgets stay under $10

Weekly spending is concentrated at the lower end. About 38% say they spend less than $5, and 37% say they spend $5 to $10.

The drink-type pattern also looks mixed. Espresso is mostly rare or absent, while cold brew and iced coffee show regular, occasional, rare, and nonuse patterns.

## Supporting evidence

### 91% have heard of Starbucks, and 87% have heard of Dunkin'.

Question: Which of the following coffee brands have you heard of?

Note: Shows broad coffee-brand awareness.

Topline:

- Starbucks: 90.6%
- Dunkin': 86.6%
- Folgers: 85.2%
- Maxwell House: 79.5%
- Nespresso: 69.4%

### 53% consumed Starbucks in the past year, and 42% consumed Dunkin'.

Question: Which of the following coffee brands have you consumed in the last year?

Note: Shows consumption drops below awareness, even for the top brands.

Topline:

- Starbucks: 53.1%
- Dunkin': 41.7%
- Folgers: 37.5%
- Maxwell House: 25.8%
- None of the above: 19.9%

### Less than once a month is the most common coffee-shop buying pattern.

Question: How often do you buy coffee from a coffee shop?

Note: Adds routine drinking and coffee-shop buying frequency.

Topline:

- Less than once a month: 32.9%
- A few times a month: 21.9%
- Never: 14.2%
- About once a week: 13.2%
- A few times per week: 12.7%

## Methodology

- Mode: Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
- Population: United States adults
- Field dates: 2025-09-03 → 2025-09-08
- Base (unweighted): 1,519
- Margin of error: +/- 3.3%
- Module: AI Adoption Survey August 2025
- Sponsor: Verasight
- Weight variable: weight
- Weighting targets: age, race/ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, metropolitan status

## Sources

- [Which of the following coffee brands have you heard of?](https://reports.verasight.io/r/august-ai-survey-2025#awareness-of-coffee-brands): reports.verasight.io/r/august-ai-survey-2025: Shows broad coffee-brand awareness.
- [Which of the following coffee brands have you consumed in the last year?](https://reports.verasight.io/r/august-ai-survey-2025#coffee-brands-consumed-in-the-past-year): reports.verasight.io/r/august-ai-survey-2025: Shows consumption drops below awareness, even for the top brands.
- [How often do you drink coffee?](https://reports.verasight.io/r/august-ai-survey-2025#coffee-consumption-frequency): reports.verasight.io/r/august-ai-survey-2025: Adds routine drinking and coffee-shop buying frequency.
- [How often do you buy coffee from a coffee shop?](https://reports.verasight.io/r/august-ai-survey-2025#coffee-purchase-frequency): reports.verasight.io/r/august-ai-survey-2025: Adds routine drinking and coffee-shop buying frequency.
- [Which comes closest to your weekly coffee budget?](https://reports.verasight.io/r/august-ai-survey-2025#weekly-coffee-budget): reports.verasight.io/r/august-ai-survey-2025: Adds weekly spending context.

## Citation

AI Adoption Survey August 2025, fielded September 3-8, 2025, N=1,519 United States adults, +/- 3.3%.

Canonical question URL: [https://reports.verasight.io/r/august-ai-survey-2025#awareness-of-coffee-brands](https://reports.verasight.io/r/august-ai-survey-2025#awareness-of-coffee-brands)