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Food

Millennials Are Drinking the World’s Coffee Supply Dry

A new report from Bloomberg shows that demand for coffee is at a record high among 19-to-34-year-olds. And with supplies already under threat, market prices are soaring.

You never used to drink so much. You used to be good at going without the strong stuff for a few days. But now, an innocent mid-morning macchiato preludes your 3 PM soy latte and a quickie espresso is just the hit you need to pep you up for after-work drinks.

Don't worry, you're not alone.

READ MORE: A New Report Says Millennials Are All Coffee Snobs

A new report from market analysis company Bloomberg says that global demand for coffee is at an all-time high—and Millennials are to blame. The data shows that young people aged 19 to 34-years-old now make up 44 percent of coffee drinkers in the US.

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And we're all drinking more of it than ever before.

Daily coffee consumption has risen at a rate that makes up for decline in older generations. The number of lattes, flat whites, and cappuccinos drunk by 18 to 24-year-olds soared from 34 percent to 48 percent between 2012 and 2016. In 25 to 30-year-olds, the figure jumped from 51 percent to 60 percent.

The Bloomberg figures also reveal that as coffee consumption reaches record highs, we could be headed for a coffee drought.

Supplies are currently under threat in major coffee-producing regions like South America. Experts debate the reasons for decline—a combination of coffee rust, warmer weather, and increases in fertiliser prices are all to blame—but there's no getting away from the fact that coffee output has dwindled in recent years. In 2012, around half of South America's coffee crop was wiped out and experts predict that by 2050, half of the world's current coffee growing regions could be unsuitable for production.

READ MORE: Scientists Say Climate Change Might Not Be Destroying Coffee Plantations, After All

Bloomberg says the increased demand for coffee, coupled with this supply shortage, has caused market prices to soar. The cost of popular arabica beans at its highest since 2015.

Better start stockpiling those beans now … or cut down to one mug of Joe a day.