High street full of beans as there are now 20 TIMES as many coffee shops as there were 18 years ago
Coffee has gained popularity with 70 million cups being drunk per day in the UK
CAFFEINE fans now have 20 times as many high street coffee shops to choose from than 18 years ago, figures reveal.
Demand has boomed with an estimated 70 million cups a day being drunk, more than one for every person.
There were just 215 coffee outlets in 1998, while now the total is more than 4,300, according to commercial real estate firm CBRE.
Costa Coffee is reportedly spending £40million on a new roasting plant to help meet demand.
Drinkers are also said to be getting more sophisticated in choice.
Starbucks spokesman Ian Cranna said: “We have found that our customers are more interested than ever in where we source our coffee.
“More people are opting to try our Origin Espressos, sourced from single countries, for example, as an alternative to our traditional Espresso Roast and to experiment with coffee flavours from around the world."