A Timeline of America’s Trendiest Coffee Drinks [Infographic]

It’s no secret that Americans drink their fair share of coffee. Every year, U.S. consumers each take down approximately 1,095 cups of coffee on average, which breaks down to roughly three cups per person per day and adds up to more than $100 billion in sales annually. But not all Americans are reaching for the same kind of coffee to get their daily fix.

Since the 1970s, coffee culture has exploded in the U.S., introducing Americans to drinks like lattes, macchiatoes, cold brews, cold foams, and more. It’s no coincidence that Starbucks, the world’s leading coffee chain, opened its legendary Pike Place flagship early in the decade. In fact, it’s Starbucks that popularized most of the drinks that now grace café menus nationwide, including preteen-beloved frappuccinos and the iconic Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Here, we’ve outlined the progression of America’s coffee culture by identifying when some of the trendiest café drinks made it to the mainstream. From the infamous PSL to nitro cold brew, Covid-era whipped coffee, and more, keep reading to check out our timeline of America’s trendiest coffee drinks.

Drip Coffee (1971)

It’s hard to call drip coffee “trendy” considering it’s still the predominant method of at-home coffee-making, but before there were cold brew and lattes galore, there was classic brewed coffee. While filtered coffee existed before the ’70s, two very important introductions happened early on in the decade that revolutionized its presence in the U.S.: Starbucks and the Mr. Coffee machine. Starbucks, now known for its plethora of flavored coffee drinks, got its start in 1971 at Seattle’s Pike Place Market. While modern-day Starbucks is known for its at times over-the-top coffee drinks, the flagship location sold only whole-bean coffee, tea, and spices and offered complementary pours of freshly brewed drip coffee for customers to sip on. By the 1980s, Starbucks had fully introduced drip coffee to its menu, further catapulting the style into the mainstream.

Around the same time Starbucks was getting off the ground, Mr. Coffee debuted the first electronic drip coffee machine for at-home use. The machine simplified (and greatly sped up) the process of brewing coffee — which had been mostly done via percolator before — allowing coffee to easily enter more homes. It’s likely that the introduction of these drip coffee machines, and Americans’ newly discovered love for them, furthered sales of drip coffee on-premise at Starbucks and beyond.

Latte (1984)

Lattes, which tend to consist of one-third espresso and two-thirds milk, have been enjoyed since the early 1900s, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that the drink emerged as a bona fide trend. In the latter half of the decade, Seattle-based baristas adopted the Italian tradition of pouring steamed milk in a way that created artwork atop the drink. The trend likely started at Espresso Vivace, owned by David Schomer, where employees began experimenting with various designs, including the now famous heart and rosetta. Schomer even went on to pen a detailed guide to perfecting latte art techniques in 2005.

While Espresso Vivace may have been a catalyst for the popularity of latte art, it was probably Starbucks that had a more profound impact on making the latte itself famous. In 1984, Starbucks installed an espresso bar at its sixth location in Seattle and introduced the Caffè Latte to its menu. This move further pushed the budding chain into a brewed coffee purveyor as opposed to the bean and coffee equipment provider it started out as. Starbucks was also among the first coffeehouses to stock Torani syrups, allowing baristas to concoct any number of flavor combinations. Since the ’90s, lattes — flavored or otherwise — have consistently ranked among the top-selling items at U.S. coffee shops.

Cappuccino (1990s)

The cappuccino was invented in Italy sometime in the early 1900s, but it wasn’t until the late 1920s that it would be introduced to U.S. consumers at NYC’s Caffe Reggio. And even then, it wasn’t until the ’90s that the drink truly gained traction across the U.S. As the ’90s got underway, coffee shop culture began to hit its stride, with chains like Starbucks and Peet’s Coffee rapidly expanding outside their home markets of Seattle and the Bay Area, respectively. Lattes and cappuccinos both came to popularity around the same time, but compared to lattes, cappuccinos are made with one-third espresso, one-third milk, and one-third foam and typically come in smaller sizes, resulting in a lighter texture and more coffee-forward flavor profile. Just like its milkier counterpart, the cappuccino remains one of America’s most popular coffee shop orders.

Caramel Macchiato (1990s)

Created in 1980s Italy, the macchiato, in its traditional form, is a simple shot of espresso with a small amount of steamed milk dotted on top. The name macchiato — which roughly translates to “to mark” or “to stain” — has come to mean something a bit different in the U.S., though, with general consensus agreeing that it’s made by layering espresso atop a pour of milk. Perhaps no version of the drink is more recognizable than the Caramel Macchiato, which was introduced to Starbucks menus in 1996. The drink was conceptualized by product developer Hannah Su for the chain’s 25th anniversary celebration and consists of hot or iced milk and vanilla syrup layered with espresso and a caramel drizzle. Often referred to as a latte macchiato, it’s likely this form of the drink that comes to mind when one hears the word “macchiato” thanks to its immense popularity. While only intended as a limited-time offering, the Caramel Macchiato soon became a permanent addition to Starbucks’ menu and made its way into various other cafés across the country.

Frappuccinos (2002)

If you never purchased a frappuccino between the ages of 10 and 16, did you really come of age in the United States? Creation of the frozen coffee (and sometimes not coffee) drink is often credited to Starbucks, which introduced it to its menu in 1995, but it allegedly got its start a few years prior at the Coffee Connection in Cambridge, Mass. In the late ’80s, Coffee Connection owner George Howell took a trip to Seattle where he encountered a frozen cappuccino made in a granita machine. After returning to Massachusetts, he worked on perfecting a recipe of his own, and in 1992, the frappuccino, made from frozen coffee, sugar, and milk, was born. Starbucks eventually got wind, bought out the Coffee Connection in 1994, and added the coffee frappuccino, along with a mocha version, to its menu in 1995. In 2002, the chain revamped its frappuccino offerings, introducing flavors made without coffee like Vanilla Bean, Caramel, Strawberry Crème, and others. It’s these flavor iterations that went on to become somewhat of a status symbol among preteens.

Pumpkin Spiced Latte (2003)

It’s hard to think of a coffee drink that people love — and love to hate — more than the Pumpkin Spice Latte. Every fall (though nowadays it’s more like every July), coffee shops from coast to coast start rolling out their autumnal beverages, with none ever coming close to matching the popularity of the PSL. Like many of the trendiest coffee drinks, the PSL’s popularity is tied to Starbucks, which introduced the infamous flavor to its menu in a limited capacity in 2003. It’s likely that Starbucks didn’t so much as truly invent the drink as it did to popularize it, the case for many trendy coffee drinks associated with the chain. According to a 1994 edition of The Rocket, a now-shuttered Seattle-based music publication, the seasonal sipper may have actually been created by Tori Amos. “You all have your Starbucks thing,” Amos apparently said at a Seattle concert that year. “I have one that tastes like pumpkin pie. It’s my own invention; it’s my contribution to Halloween. A little witch warmer!” Regardless of who actually came up with the drink, there’s no denying its fame even now, when an estimated 20 million are sold in the U.S. every year.

Cold Brew (2010s)

Iced coffee has been around in the U.S. since coffee culture embedded itself in Americans’ daily lives decades ago. Unlike iced coffee, which is brewed hot coffee simply cooled down and poured over ice, cold brew is made by steeping coffee grounds in room-temperature water for several hours to make a coffee concentrate. It’s that concentrate that’s then combined with cold water or milk for more dilution and a better-tasting pick-me-up. Considering the different preparation measures, cold-brewed coffee can be much stronger than its hot-brewed counterpart, which could explain its rampant popularity starting around the mid-2010s. By that time, New Orleans-based coffee roasters had been selling cold brew for a few years, but in 2011, Stumptown introduced ready-to-drink cold brew coffee in cans. In 2015, Starbucks launched cold brewed coffee on its menus and Dunkin’ did the same the following year. Suddenly, cold brew was inescapable. Admiration for the drink was only furthered by the breakthrough of nitro cold brew. Infused with nitrogen bubbles, nitro cold brew is known for its more viscous, creamier mouthfeel that takes the coffee style to the next level.

Whipped Coffee (2020)

Covid lockdowns introduced the world to a number of questionable trends, from various TikTok dances to whacky bread recipes, and, of course, whipped coffee. Who can forget whipped coffee? The drink took off in March 2020 just after lockdowns got underway, with most crediting user @imhannahcho for kickstarting the trend when she hand-whipped instant coffee into a fluffy, mousse-like consistency and combined it with milk. Her video amassed over 16 million views and inspired TikTokers worldwide to try a whipped coffee of their own. While whipped coffee is now permanently added to the Pandemic-era lexicon, the drink, also known as Dalgona coffee, allegedly originated in 1997 in Macau and simply gained popularity in the West following its TikTok virality. While whipped coffees are now mostly a relic of the past, the trend inspired a multitude of café drinks, including during the questionable cheese foam era.

Cold Foam (2021)

Following the admiration for whipped coffee in the Covid-era, consumers quickly turned their attention to all sorts of other fluffy accoutrements for their coffee. Cold foam is one of, if not the, most popular, with coffee consumers nationwide clamoring for more and more froth to layer atop their caffeine. Cold foam — which can be flavored or left plain — is essentially a lighter version of whipped cream made from milk that started cropping up on coffee-house menus in the late 2010s. That said, it wasn’t until the viral whipped coffee trend that cold foam catapulted into the limelight, and it’s unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon. According to Chicago-based market research firm Datassential, cold foam sales have skyrocketed almost 1,700 percent since 2022. The fad has even spread to cocktails, coffee-inspired or otherwise.

Matcha (2022)

In the past few years, matcha has exploded in popularity — so much so that warning sirens are blaring for shortages, false products, and more. The matcha craze kicked off around 2015 when Gwyneth Paltrow posted about her love for matcha lattes on Instagram, but everything changed in 2022 when TikTokers adopted the bright green tea. Since December 2022, matcha exports have surged over 320 percent, and some consumers are drinking so much of the stuff that they’re disrupting their body’s ability to properly absorb iron. The drink’s virality is undeniably pushing sales forward, with the matcha hashtag amassing over 4 million posts on TikTok. The fad has prompted the creation of matcha lattes of all shapes and sizes — including lemon pepper — as well as matcha beer, matcha Martinis, and more questionable introductions that we think the traditional ingredient could have done without.

Protein Coffee Chaos (2025)

If 2025 could be boiled down to one food and beverage trend, it would be protein. Pop-Tarts launched a protein-heavy Frosted Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough pastry, Khloe Kardashian debuted Khloud protein popcorn made with whey, and protein bar company David announced that its newest product was a filet of cod. Sadly, coffee was not spared from the protein-ification of American food and bev. Last year, protein-infused coffee took over menus at chains like Starbucks (29 grams), Peet’s Coffee (20 grams), and Dutch Bros (23 grams). Despite the popularity of protein-infused coffee — proffee for short — experts still disagree on whether or not there is any real nutritional benefit from tossing the macronutrient into your morning cup of joe.

*Image retrieved from photopk – stock.adobe.com

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