According to the Specialty Food Association, a
trade group, the ready - to - drink
coffee and tea industry saw a 262 percent increase in revenue from 2013 to 2015 — the largest increase of any specialty food or beverage
segment.
The term was first used by Erna Knutsen in an issue of Tea &
Coffee Trade Journal in 1974, and specialty
coffees are now the fastest growing
segment of the US market, having increased from only 1 % to 20 % in the last 25 years.