Brewing the Perfect Blend: A 500-Person Coffee Taste Test Across London and New York

How MindMarket helped a leading syrup brand uncover the coffee and syrup combinations that consumers and professionals actually prefer — in two of the world’s most influential coffee markets.

The Challenge

A leading global syrup brand came to MindMarket with a deceptively simple question: which coffee and syrup combinations do people actually prefer?

Simple question. Complex answer — because preference doesn’t exist in a vacuum. What makes a perfect flat white in Shoreditch, London, might fall completely flat in Soho, New York City. The flavour profiles baristas reach for, the sweetness levels consumers expect, the way syrups interact with local coffee styles — all of it shifts when you cross the Atlantic. The client needed a coffee taste testing research study that went beyond basic preference ranking. They wanted to understand why certain combinations resonated, and whether those preferences held true across two very different coffee cultures.

The stakes were real. The global coffee syrup market is booming — and in a space this competitive, gut feeling isn’t a product strategy. The client needed evidence-based insight to inform their flavour portfolio, product development roadmap, and go-to-market positioning for both the UK and US markets.

Our Approach

We designed and delivered a central location taste test across both cities, running simultaneously to ensure consistency in methodology and timing.

500 respondents. Two cities. Ten days. Each location — Shoreditch, London and Soho, New York City — hosted 250 participants, comprising 200 consumers and 50 industry professionals (baristas and bartenders). Over five full fieldwork days per city, each respondent participated in a structured 15-minute beverage taste testing session, sampling five different coffee and syrup combinations. Dedicated teams of five interviewers per location ensured a streamlined process, consistent data collection, and a warm, professional experience for every participant.

The sessions were carefully controlled — same product temperatures, same serving sizes, same evaluation framework — so the data from London and New York could be meaningfully compared. This wasn’t about gathering two separate datasets. It was about building one cross-market picture.

Recruitment was where things got interesting. In Shoreditch, our team took to the streets — literally intercepting potential participants outside coffee shops, creative studios, and along Brick Lane to ensure we hit our sample targets. In Soho, New York, the energy was different but the challenge was the same: attracting the right mix of everyday coffee drinkers and seasoned industry professionals in one of Manhattan’s busiest neighbourhoods. Our field teams adapted their approach to each city’s rhythm, combining pre-recruitment with proactive on-the-ground outreach to maintain high show rates and achieve our full sample across both locations.

This wasn’t clipboard-and-lab-coat research. It was real people, real reactions, real coffee — captured in the moment, in the neighbourhoods where coffee culture actually lives.

The Insights

The study revealed distinct preference patterns between London and New York — exactly the kind of nuance that single-market research would have missed entirely.

Consumer and professional panels didn’t always agree, either. Baristas and bartenders brought a different lens to the tasting — evaluating not just personal preference but how well each combination would perform behind the bar, how it would pair with alternative milks, and whether the flavour profile would translate across a full drinks menu. Consumers, meanwhile, responded more instinctively to sweetness balance, aroma, and overall drinkability.

By testing both audiences side by side, MindMarket gave the client a dual-perspective dataset: what professionals would recommend and what consumers would actually choose. That distinction proved invaluable — because the syrup that baristas loved most wasn’t always the one consumers reached for first.

The cross-market comparison also highlighted how cultural context shapes flavour preference. Insights from the London sessions reflected the UK’s growing appetite for subtler, less sweet flavour profiles, while New York respondents gravitated towards bolder, more indulgent combinations. These weren’t just data points — they were strategic signals that informed how the client would position different products in different markets.

The Impact

The findings gave the client exactly what they needed: a clear, evidence-based roadmap for product development and marketing across the UK and US.

Specifically, the research shaped decisions around which syrup flavours to prioritise in each market, how to communicate flavour profiles to both trade and consumer audiences, and where to focus new product development resources. The dual-panel approach — consumers alongside baristas and bartenders — meant the client could align product innovation with both market demand and professional endorsement, strengthening their positioning with retailers and hospitality partners alike.

This project demonstrated what MindMarket does best: coordinating complex, multi-market sensory research through a single point of contact. From recruitment logistics in two of the world’s busiest neighbourhoods to consistent data collection across 500 respondents, every detail was managed seamlessly — so the client could focus on what mattered most: making better product decisions, faster.

by Sina Salah - Founder & CEO of MindMarket International

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Whether you’re testing coffee, spirits, snacks, or an entirely new product concept, MindMarket designs and delivers taste testing research that gives you the real answers — from real people, in real markets.

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