Coffee trends change by the month, with new and exciting products and flavors constantly emerging. Yet, some coffee experts believe 2025 may be the year coffee drinkers return to a tried-and-true classic: plain black coffee. Jeff Daniels, Director of Sales at Non-Fiction Coffee Co., predicts a resurgence of black coffee this year, anticipating that coffee lovers will regain their appreciation for it. With over 10 years in the coffee industry, Daniels shares with us Here’s why.
Has black coffee lost popularity in the past?
“I think the perceived dip in black coffee over the years was primarily a result of successful marketing efforts to make coffee more palatable to more people. Seasonal flavors and limitless syrup options meant that coffee became a lesser player in the overall drink people were getting. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that,” says Daniels.
“I am all for anything that expands the coffee drinking market as that can greatly benefit producers, but I think the unintentional consequence of that may have been less attention to the coffee portion of those efforts.”
Why do you anticipate a resurgence of black coffee in 2025?
“Coffee farmers are incredibly innovative, constantly finding new ways to bring out the most intricate flavors in coffee. This makes brewing and drinking black coffee a more exciting experience and, in my opinion, will lead to a growing appreciation for it. This trend is particularly evident in the expanding community of home coffee enthusiasts, another market area that shows no signs of slowing down,” Daniels says.
Additionally, black coffee stands the test of time more so than trendy beverages like seasonal lattes and macchiatos. “Coffee contains more than double the flavor compounds of wine, renowned for its vast complexity. When treated with the same level of care and sophistication, black coffee reveals an incredible spectrum of possibilities. This depth of flavor and its timeless simplicity allows it to stand the test of time while also progressively pushing the boundaries through innovation at the farm level.”
What type of coffee do you like to enjoy as black coffee? 
While any coffee can be enjoyed black, Daniels shares that he has recently enjoyed Non-Fiction Coffee’s Narrative Blend, “a light roast that highlights fruit-forward and floral coffees.”
“However, my longstanding go-to is a single-origin washed Ethiopian coffee, like Non-Fiction Coffee’s current Ethiopia Kochore. I’m enamored with its sweet, floral, and complex profile. Coffees like this first captivated me—making me realize how little I knew about coffee at the time—and they continue to inspire me today. I’m driven to source coffees that can offer that same revelatory experience to someone who, like I once was, is just beginning to explore coffee’s true potential”, says Daniels.
At Non-Fiction Coffee, we “take great pride in cultivating long-term relationships with coffee farmers. A beautiful, unintended result of this commitment is witnessing how coffee evolves between harvests due to factors like weather patterns. This deep connection allows us to refine our roasting with each harvest and share that excitement with our customers—who, in turn, embrace the return of the same farmers’ coffees each season.” These small details make an impact on consumers’ connection with their coffee, especially as the black coffee resurgence trend grows.
