What will people be drinking next? Oatly, the world’s original and largest oat drink company, has published its second Future of Taste report. It brings together more than 200 interviews with baristas, café owners, mixologists and drinks experts across 21 countries, alongside quantitative trends data compiled by researchers CultureLab, to identify the trends expected to shape café menus in the coming months.
The report points to a potential overhaul of coffee menus on the horizon, with a growing interest in botanical and fermented ingredients, a boom in non-coffee and tea orders, and – with the rise of innovations like coffee jelly – “texture” playing an increasingly starring role.
Rowena Roos, Oatly Head of FADE said:
“This year’s Future of Taste Report makes one thing very clear: people are expecting a lot more from their drinks. They want more excitement, more texture, and more functionality. From wellness drinks with real personality to global flavours, playful textures and cafés at the core of actual human connection, menus are becoming far more expressive. It’s been exciting to hear how many creators see oat drink as a brilliant starting point for that creativity, allowing baristas and café teams to build drinks people don’t just order but remember.”
THE PHARMAFICATION OF DRINKS: Herbs, botanicals and fermented ingredients are moving further into everyday drinks, as cafés borrow from wellness, nature and traditional food cultures. 40% of drinks professionals say herbs and botanicals will shape the future of flavour, making them the number one taste trend in the report. Ginger, hibiscus and lavender are among the ingredients gaining attention, while 56% of experts spontaneously mentioned fermentation. Alongside kombucha, drinks such as tepache, kvass and Turkish şalgam are starting to appear on the radar.
“We did a green bean tepache a couple of months ago – pineapple fermented with green coffee beans into a kombucha-esque ferment, which we did with tonic and cold brew. It was so wacky but so fun. People either loved it or hated it, but they went for it and they tried it. – Flo Thomas, Batch Baby, London
Olive Sour: Salty olives and brine mix with refreshing lemon and vegetable juice. Topped with an olive oil Oatly Barista Cold Foam.
THE GREAT CAFÉ RECONNECTION: With the rise of AI and at-home working, cafés are taking on a bigger role as places to meet, spend time and find community. 51% of drinks experts say belonging, community or connection will be central to the future of cafés. That could mean specialist coffee communities, matcha groups, music-led spaces or cafés built around other shared interests. The drink still matters, but increasingly, so does what happens around it.
“AI is going to take over people’s desktops, and a lot of people are working remotely. There’ll come a day where a lot of people go the whole day and only speak to AI. The way we’ve evolved, we need real experiences – people are going to want real things. It might be the one human interaction they have in a day.” – Sooji Im, Founder of Tokkia, London
Goji Mont Blanc
Iced filter with sweet and tangy goji berry syrup, topped with Oatly Barista Cold Foam. The classic format reinvented with a twist.
THE END OF THE FLAT WHITE? Coffee and tea are no longer the only drinks competing for space on the café menu. 82% of baristas and café owners mentioned drinks that were neither tea nor coffee. Ube was mentioned twice as often as the flat white or cappuccino, while refreshers, botanical sodas, fermented drinks, hojicha, coconut and hibiscus are also finding their way onto menus. The result is a café menu that looks increasingly different from the one we’re used to.
“If I go to a café, I still have my flat white or batch brew. But if I see an interesting refresher-style soda, I will always order that as well as my coffee, and a lot of younger people are starting to have a similar attitude.” – Ollie Baumber, Clifton Coffee Roasters, Bristol
Coconut Pandan Cloud
Coconut, espresso and orange blossom water meld together with the floral and coconutty notes of the pandan Oatly Cold Foam. Floral, bitter, creamy and very definitely not your usual latte.
THE SQUISHY BOOM: For many drinkers, flavour is only part of the appeal. Texture and appearance are becoming part of the order too. 72% of beverage experts say mouthfeel is becoming as important as flavour. Jelly, foam, fizz, chewy toppings, fruit pieces and layered drinks are all part of this shift. Looks matter too, with 37% of experts saying how a drink looks is integral to its appeal. Whilst, google searches for coffee jelly are up 90% year-on-year globally.
“I think people feel texture a lot more than they even realise. And not just mouthfeel – the feel of the glass in your hand, the salt rim, the feel on your lips as well as in your mouth.” – Rebecca Morgan Lewis, Origin Coffee Roasters, London
Pannoat Cotta Thai Tea
A thick slurpable pannoat cotta made with Oatly Barista Edition Coconut Flavour is the base of this texture rich beverage. Topped with a creamy Thai tea mix.
The findings build on Oatly’s 2025 Future of Taste report, which correctly identified the rise of decaf, the proliferation of fiber-focused drinks and the staying power of matcha beyond a passing fad.
Read the full report at: oatly.com/future-of-taste
View Oatly’s Lookbook – our take on upcoming trends and recipes – here: oatly.com/lookbook
