"Is it true that Seattleites drink more espresso than water?"
Posted by Gene Balk
Continued...
In 1989, back when coffee still meant Taster’s Choice to most Americans, a reporter for the Associated Press found something very strange going on in Seattle. Espresso practically flowed through the streets here. Reporting back to an astonished America on this city’s booming cafe culture, he made an outlandish claim: “Some say Seattlites drink more espresso than water.” A nation gasped.
The reporter may have spelled “Seattleites” wrong, but was he right about us? Did we — and do we — really drink more espresso than water? It’s been 23 years since that AP article. Isn’t it about time somebody looked into this?
I couldn’t resist. So I crunched a lot of market research data, and I have an answer to share with you. I know that on the face of it, it sounds preposterous — but the reporter was right. It is true. Seattleites actually do prefer espresso to water — at least if you’re talking about bottled water. And here is the remarkable thing: out of the 96 metropolitan areas that I studied — from New York to Los Angeles, from Toledo to Tucson — there is only one place in the United States where more people drink espresso than bottled water. I’ll give you one guess.
The reporter may have spelled “Seattleites” wrong, but was he right about us? Did we — and do we — really drink more espresso than water? It’s been 23 years since that AP article. Isn’t it about time somebody looked into this?
I couldn’t resist. So I crunched a lot of market research data, and I have an answer to share with you. I know that on the face of it, it sounds preposterous — but the reporter was right. It is true. Seattleites actually do prefer espresso to water — at least if you’re talking about bottled water. And here is the remarkable thing: out of the 96 metropolitan areas that I studied — from New York to Los Angeles, from Toledo to Tucson — there is only one place in the United States where more people drink espresso than bottled water. I’ll give you one guess.
I am not obsessed though, not like some people. I drink about 64 oz of coffee a day, but I only drink about 40 oz of water. So I guess even with as little coffee as I drink, the stats hold up for me too.
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