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As part of NCA Next Gen’s ongoing interview series, Everett Brown, Managing Director at Westfeldt Brothers, Inc., recently had the opportunity to sit down with Felton Jones, Roastmaster and Coffee Buyer for PJ’s Coffee. In this conversation, Everett and Felton discuss Felton’s industry experience and what the coffee industry can do to provide more opportunities for underrepresented groups.

Everett Brown: Felton, thanks for sitting with me. Could you tell me a bit about your background and how you began your career in coffee?

Felton Jones: I started with PJs Coffee of New Orleans back in the 90s as a part-time employee and eventually had the opportunity to move into a full-time position. I was doing everything from making cold brew to delivering coffee. In my time as a delivery driver, I had many opportunities during my downtime to learn from Phyllis Jordan, the founder of PJs Coffee. I used those opportunities to join Phyllis and my predecessor, Scott Reed in the cupping lab. I was always willing to learn from the team, and the rest was history.

EB: You and I have known each other for many years, and we recently spoke about underrepresented groups in coffee – particularly, how there aren’t enough opportunities to get into positions of influence. As an African American in the industry, what does representation in coffee mean to you?

FJ: In one word: opportunity. If opportunities were out there, African Americans would be able to go for those opportunities and positions of influence. The coffee industry is extremely relationship-driven, in the best way. But on the other hand, if you’re not in on those relationships and don’t have the ability to be in on those conversations, it’s hard for those opportunities to trickle down to other people.

I see more black and brown people in coffee at the barista level. I think we need a bridge that connects the barista world to the rest of the industry. The opportunities that could benefit those workers are tremendous, and once we create that bridge between the front line and higher levels in the supply chain, I think we will see a wheel begin to turn. Those relationships will give underrepresented groups the opportunity to get into more positions of influence in coffee.

EB: Do you see more representation among the Next Generation of coffee professionals?

FJ: I believe representation over the last 20 to 30 years has been stagnant. However, I do see representation from a more individual perspective. I think about people like Phyllis Johnson, President of BD Imports and Founder of The Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity. There are more independent businesses and owners getting started in coffee that are coming from newer groups.

EB: What measures do you think the industry could take to provide more opportunities for underrepresented groups to get into the coffee supply chain?

FJ: As I see it, the most obvious opportunity is outreach and introduction of the industry to HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities). Whether it be through a general assembly, seminars, or curriculum, this is an opportunity to make an appeal as an industry to individuals who are wondering “What’s next?”

I think about my youngest, who is beginning to start his senior year in college and will be approaching this big moment in life soon. As an industry, we could capitalize on this opportunity to reach out to young people and say “Hey, what about coffee?”

This strategy could be a bit exclusive to those who don’t attend college or have the opportunity to pursue higher education. There are opportunities to reach out to high schools and get to people who enter the workforce early. Connecting to coffee shops on and around college campuses or in cities to show interest and outreach would work as well.

EB: What hurdles and challenges did you experience in your career that you hope to help others learn from?

FJ: I have been in the coffee industry for 30 years, and the last 10 to 15 years have been increasingly easy for me. My company stood behind me and sort of made me the face and name of our brand. It’s amazing to have a brand that sticks behind you. It adds a level of credibility to your name when you are entering those decision-making situations. I have our company, PJs, to thank for all of that help.

I have also seen internal challenges, though. Usually, these are challenges in trying to separate the business side of things from the artisan aspect of coffee. It’s a matter of not looking at just the balance sheet, but saying “We really are a coffee company. We know what we are talking about and we’re not just saying stuff.”

EB: Are there any organizations in the industry that you see doing good work when it comes to furthering the representation of underrepresented groups in the supply chain?

FJ: The only one that comes to mind immediately is the Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity. The group was started by Phyllis Johnson, who I mentioned earlier. Phyllis wrote a letter a long time ago that was published to challenge the industry to show more support for groups that don’t have as many opportunities in the coffee industry. Phyllis started the CCRE to create a group and space that would fight for those individuals to receive racial equity within the industry.

EB: If you could go back in time twenty years, what advice would you give yourself about pursuing a career in coffee?

FJ: I would say have patience, be willing to get dirty, and don’t be afraid of change. I’ll be candid with you: I was having a conversation with an employee who looks up to me as a mentor and he told me “Mr. Jones, your generation is so much more loyal than my generation. If an opportunity presents itself, we’re probably going to take it.” That was an enlightening experience for me because, when I was starting out, we really didn’t move around much. But, because of that, there were opportunities that might have passed me by or passed people in my generation by. So, experiment when you are younger with moving around in the industry but also don’t give up a good thing that you have going just because.

But honestly, there’s not much I would change about my personal path. I’m happy with where I am and happy I’ve stayed with it. It’s a long journey and there are so many lessons to be taken along the way.

This year, America celebrated its 247th birthday, but did you know that coffee has been one of America’s favorite beverages for even longer? In fact, there is evidence that coffee came to the colonies as early as the days when Captain John Smith and others helped to found Jamestown.  

In 1670, Dorothy Jones became the first person licensed to trade coffee in the colonies, and later, drinking coffee came to be seen as a patriotic act. Choosing coffee over tea (and dumping tea into the Boston Harbor) was associated with some of America’s Founding Fathers: George Washington not only imported beans from Yemen, but even attempted to grow coffee (not so successfully) at Mount Vernon.  

From those early days, coffee has cemented itself as a staple in American culture. Today, two-thirds of Americans enjoy coffee each day (per our National Coffee Data Trends report), drinking an estimated 491 million cups of coffee daily. 

Among American coffee aficionados, we can find some mega-stars to add to our list of American coffee icons. 

• In 2012, Leonardo DiCaprio partnered with La Colombe to launch a signature coffee line called “Lyon,” benefiting the actor’s environmental sustainability efforts. 
• In 2022, Tom Hanks launched “Hanx for Our Troops” coffee, with profits donated to veteran support organizations. 
• Internet cool-girl Emma Chamberlain started “Chamberlain Coffee” in 2020, partnering with Food4Farmers to support food security for families in coffee-farming communities.  
• Boston-born actor Ben Affleck’s undying love for Dunkin’ is well known. This year, he even served up a Dunkin’ Super Bowl ad! 

• Pop legend Britney Spears included a coffee scent in one of her successful perfume collections. 
• When “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” host Jerry Seinfeld was asked why coffee is so central to our culture, Seinfeld said: “I think the answer is we all need a little help, and coffee’s a little help with everything.” We couldn’t agree more! 

Famous or otherwise, coffee drinkers may be interested to know that evidence shows coffee is associated with many unique health benefits. For example, a comprehensive review published in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that “consumption of 3 to 5 standard cups of coffee daily has been consistently associated with a reduced risk of several chronic diseases.” 

From the earliest coffee drinkers in colonial Jamestown to today’s millions of coffee drinkers and coffee businesses, people have made coffee part of the fabric of America for centuries. And we’re proud to say that it will undoubtedly be part of our culture for generations to come.  

We think that’s something to celebrate. 

It’s one of the most wonderful times of the year! That’s right, spring has sprung and the latest edition of the National Coffee Data Trends (NCDT) report is here.

Commissioned by the National Coffee Association (NCA) since 1950, the NCDT report is the longest-running study of American consumers’ coffee drinking patterns. Polling is conducted twice per year, with results released in the spring and fall, giving coffee insiders exclusive access to in-depth and up-to-date data on consumers’ coffee behaviors and also their overall perceptions, economic situations, and more.

For more than two decades, coffee has been America’s favorite beverage, and that shows no signs of changing. 65% of Americans drank coffee in the past day – more than any other beverage, including bottled or tap water!

While coffee’s overall popularity has not shown much change in recent years, this spring’s report provides an important window into coffee trends as consumers continue to emerge from the disruptions of the last several years. Spring 2023 NCDT results show that past-day coffee consumption is above pre-pandemic levels for all age groups, but some other effects remain.

The pandemic has not changed how much coffee Americans drink – 1.9 cups per person or 2.9 cups per past-day coffee drinker, about the same as in January 2020. However, the pandemic has had lingering effects on where Americans drink coffee.

In the new report, 83% of past-day coffee drinkers had coffee at home, up by 4% since January 2020. By comparison, 35% had coffee away from home, continuing to rebound from a low of 31% in January 2021, but down from 41% in January 2020.

Other changes in the Spring 2023 NCDT can be attributed to seasonal swings. Unsurprisingly, colder temperatures when polling was conducted in January 2023 resulted in some warmer cups – 84% of past-day coffee drinkers had a hot coffee, up 10% from polling in July 2022 (published in October).

Consumption of cold coffee overall (a category that includes both iced and frozen blended beverages) decreased by 13% from July 2022 to January 2023, while iced coffee itself decreased by 40%. Interestingly, frozen coffee doesn’t show the same swing, with consumption remaining steady at 11% since the summer.

Like coffee’s overall popularity, some other findings in today’s report show remarkable staying power. Drip coffee makers have been the most popular preparation method for at least the last 13 years since the question was first included in the NCDT. 40% of past-day coffee drinkers have had coffee prepared in a drip brewer.

In second place, 28% of past-day coffee drinkers used a single-cup brewer, holding steady with performance over the last few years.

Our NCDT insights don’t end there! That’s just a small sip of the data and analysis available in the full report. Stay tuned here on the NCD blog for more sneak peeks and click here to purchase the NCDT consumer research series.