Food Shopping and Storing Beverages The Top 5 Coffee Trends to Look Out for This Year Best part? You can try them all at home. By Laura Fisher Laura Fisher Laura Fisher is a sustainability and health professional with a passion for good food, the outdoors, and fitness. Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Published on July 28, 2020 Share Tweet Pin Email For many people, coffee is much more than a drink—it's the thing that gets them excited to wake up in the morning and gives them that extra boost to get through the afternoon. And whether you're a Keurig coffee drinker, French press pro, or a pour-over aficionado, there's no denying that there's a whole world of options out there for the coffee lover, with seemingly endless new ones popping up at your local coffee shop all the time. So what is on the horizon for 2020 for coffee quaffers? Read on for the top five trends to look out for this year. The good news is that you can experience four out of five right in the comfort of your own home, no mask required. 5 Mistakes You're Making With Coffee That Are Ruining Your Brew 01 of 05 Nitro Cold Brew Coffee According to a recent report, iced coffee sales are growing faster than hot coffee in stores across the country, with cold brew leading the pack in sales at big coffee chains. But if cold brew is the mainstream favorite, nitro coffee is its trendy cousin who is starting to hit the market in a major way. What is nitro? It's cold brew coffee shot through with nitrogen gas through a pressurized valve and dispensed through a tap, leading to a Guinness-like pour. What makes nitro coffee so popular is its velvety texture and lower acidity, making it easy to drink black, even for cream lovers. Expect to see nitro appear in your neighborhood coffee shop sometime soon, if you haven't already. 02 of 05 Dalgona Whipped Coffee gahsoon/Getty Images Unless you were quarantined under a rock, you know that there was one coffee trend that took the internet by storm this spring. Whipped coffee (also known as dalgona coffee) is a frothy beverage with origins in South Korea, made by whipping together instant coffee, sugar, and water to make a toffee-colored foam that's spooned over milk. It's fancy enough for your social media page, but simple enough to make at home. So don't expect this viral trend to go away anytime soon, especially when more people are relying on home brews than coffee shops (and still want something a little fancy in their cups). 03 of 05 Sustainably-Grown Beans Across every sector, people are becoming more aware of where what they consume comes from. Coffee is no exception to this growing interest in sustainability, and there is more and more transparency around the origin of beans, how they were grown, and who roasted them. Industry trendsetter Counter Culture now offers a yearly sustainability report that offers information about their entire supply chain from sourcing to carbon emissions, and you should expect to see more coffee companies following suit. If you're buying by the bag, look for terms like "shade grown," "bird friendly," and certifications from the Rainforest Alliance and Fair Trade. 04 of 05 Quality Decaf It used to be that if you were trying to cut down on caffeine, your options were to either forgo your treasured cup of coffee completely or be content with subpar blends. The decaffeination process can take away some of the potent flavors of coffee, but recently there have been a number of high-end coffee roasters, like Stumptown, making high-quality coffee sans caffeine. This is due in part to continued awareness among consumers of wellness and how what they put in their bodies affects them. And as it turns out, a 4 p.m. cup of coffee can seriously interfere with sleep. So ditch the dreadful decaf in 2020 and look for robust blends from your favorite luxury roasters and high-end coffee shops. 05 of 05 Coffee Subscriptions Ground and Hounds Now that we're all spending more time at home than ever, there's never been a better moment to invest in a good coffee subscription service. While we used to rely on stopping by our favorite coffee shop on our morning commute, 2020 is seeing a lot more people working from home, and needing to create that cafe-quality experience in their own kitchens. Coffee subscriptions services provide freshly-roasted beans right to your doorstep, and will even help you pick the perfect beans for your brew. Check out our list of the 13 best coffee subscriptions services out there for some inspo, and get ready to up your barista skills. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit