Americans are drinking less coffee but spending more

Single-serve coffee machines like Keurig are transforming the way Americans consume coffee. (Reuters)

For the first time in six years, people in U.S. will be spending more money on coffee but drinking less of it, reports Reuters.

The U.S., which is one of the world’s largest coffee-drinking countries, consumed 24 million 132- pound bags last year. It's estimated that will drop to 23.7 million bags in the 2015-2016 season—the first decline since the 2009-2010. Of the top eight biggest coffee consumers around the world, the U.S. will be only one to see a decline in consumption.

Despite declining consumption, Americans are still shelling out plenty of cash for premium blends and single-serve pods.

In 2014, people in the U.S. spent a record $11.9 billion coffee. This year, that figure is expected to jump to $12.8 billion and increase to $13.6 billion by 2016, according to market research firm Mintel.

The trend of per-cup brewing means that Americans are making only what they intend to drink as opposed to making a pot for the whole office—which may eventually end up being thrown out.

“People used to make a pot of coffee, now they make a cup,” Pedro Gavina, owner of Vernon, California-based roaster Gavina & Sons, told Reuters. “Right there we’re losing the sink as a consumer.”

According to figures from the National Coffee Association (NCA), Americans are drinking an average of 1.85 cups a day, the smallest figure since 2010.

Today, more than a quarter of American household report owning a single-serve coffee machine, up from 15 percent in 2014, according to the NCA.