What is Switzerland's favourite type of coffee?
By Jan de Boer
A new survey from Deloitte has revealed that people living in Swiss cities and cantons are falling out of love with their traditional choice of brew. They found that after decades of domination, the café crème is no longer the alpine nation's top coffee, having been replaced by espresso.
Is Switzerland turning away from café crème?
When it comes to coffee in Switzerland, the king of the pack has always been the café crème. The Swiss classic is a large cup of black coffee prepared like an espresso, the difference being that four times as much water is used to make it, and it is always made under high pressure. It gets its name from the fact that it is often mixed with a sachet of cream.
However, according to Deloitte, the traditional Swiss brew is slowly being eclipsed by styles from abroad. "We are witnessing an Italianisation of coffee culture in Switzerland," the report noted.
Coffee preferences vary across Swiss cantons
According to the survey, espresso is now the most popular coffee to drink in Switzerland. 47 percent of respondents said an espresso was one of their favourite coffees, while cappuccinos (37 percent) pushed café crème down to joint-third with lattes (32 percent).
The study found that worldwide, the strong shot of caffeine is most popular among those born before 1980. Millennials (1981-1996) have a penchant for cappuccinos while Generation Z (1997-2012) would swap out a frothy coffee for a latte. The report also found a Röstigraben between Swiss cantons, with German-speaking regions preferring to add more milk, while Ticino and the Romandie have a penchant for adding more sugar.
When it comes to how to get their caffeine, most prefer coffee capsules (38 percent) and automatic coffee machines (37 percent). Old-faithful instant coffee came in third with 22 percent while barista-style machines (17 percent) and filter coffee were less well-rated.
Thumb image credit: Breslavtsev Oleg / Shutterstock.com
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Editor for Switzerland at IamExpat Media. Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016.
While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more