Today’s café customer wants more than caffeine, they want a sensory experience. Flavours that feel nostalgic. Serves that feel crafted. This year, we’re seeing a return to emotional flavours that help cafés differentiate while delivering comfort in every cup.

Autumn menus are built on comfort – and flavour leads the way

This season, cafés are leaning into emotional flavours that deliver comfort, familiarity and visual appeal. Vanilla, caramel, and cherry continue to lead, while options like matcha and spiced profiles are rising among younger drinkers seeking variety and ritual. In fact, matcha-based drinks have seen a +38% year-on-year growth across UK premium café menus, ready for autumn 2025.¹

Salted Caramel offers richness with a grown-up twist. Layer it with MONIN Vanilla and you get a serve that feels premium, familiar and adaptable. Take the Golden Caramel Iced Latte – an indulgence that bridges late-summer warmth with autumnal appeal. These drinks don’t just taste indulgent, they look it too. Visually layered drinks see 28% higher sales in Q4 compared to flat alternatives, especially when featured on social media or signage.²

Cherry is this year’s surprise hero. It taps into iconic desserts like Black Forest cake or Bakewell Tart, adding a vibrant twist to signature drinks. Think Cherry Bakewell Hot Chocolate – colourful, comforting, and creative without complication. It stands out on menus without pushing boundaries too far, making it perfect for operators balancing creativity with consistency. It’s a timely fit too, with 43% of café customers now prioritising nostalgic flavours like cherry, vanilla, and caramel over novelty trends during autumn.³

Vanilla plays a foundational role. Far from plain, it smooths and enhances seasonal serves – from spiced lattes to custom recipes. It’s the backbone of flavour layering and still a top pick for customers seeking simple luxury. In fact, 1 in 3 consumers now view café drinks as a small moment of joy in their weekly routine, making comforting, quality-led flavours more commercially relevant than ever.⁴

“We hear from operators every week – they want drinks that are easy to deliver but still earn their place on a premium menu,” says Lee Hyde, MONIN UK&I Beverage Expert. “That’s exactly where these flavours shine – they feel new, but they’re rooted in familiarity.”

Autumn is more than just a season, it’s a strategic reset for cafés. With 60% of UK coffee drinkers actively looking for new flavours when the weather turns colder, this moment is primed for menu refresh.⁵

MONIN’s flavour range helps operators deliver just that: dependable innovation, seasonal relevance, and the kind of experience customers come back for.

There’s MONIN For That!

For more trends, recipes, and social media assets, visit the MONIN Resource Hub.

¹ KAM Media Menu Trends Tracker, Autumn 2025
² Lumina Intelligence Menu Performance Study, 2023–2024
³ KAM Media Café Trends Pulse, Q3 2024
⁴ Allegra World Coffee Portal, 2025 UK Café Report
⁵ Allegra Strategies, Autumn Coffee Consumer Tracker 2024

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MONIN conducted first-hand research, visiting over 200 venues across the UK, backed up with third-party research to compile the report, revealing the coffee and cocktail trends expected to shine on seasonal menus.

For bars, coffee shops and operators looking to stay ahead of the curve this year, MONIN’s predicted trends are…

Nostalgia

Hailed as one of the top trends for 2025, nostalgic drinks are sure to be popular next season.

Adventurous Behaviour

With the online world broadening culinary horizons, consumers are daring to experiment with flavours, formats and unusual combinations.

Fusions

With the coffee shop and bar markets crossing over, and venues looking to offer the next “new thing”, customers can expect combinations such as coffee/cocktail hybrids.

Functional Benefits

Health remains a top priority for consumers. Embrace this trend by adding a healthier twist to serves such as lower ABV, lower calories and sugar content, or an added nutritional benefit such as matcha.

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