New year, new you. That’s how these things usually go. January 1 marks an opportunity to set new goals, try new routines, and examine our old commitments to see if they should stick into the next year. So it goes with 2026. No doubt you’ve already considered what you can try this year to shake things up. Maybe you’ve even thought of cutting your caffeine intake or opting for coffee at home as opposed to the cafe. Allow us to suggest some resolutions for you that pertain directly to coffee.
Coffee had a very strange and unsettled year in 2025. The volatile situation around tariffs here in the U.S. meant that coffee import prices surged. And even though legislation was passed to reverse tariffs on coffee, everyone in the industry has felt the shockwave. So it might seem strange to think of coffee as a place to change things. Hasn’t it just undergone enough change to last a lifetime?
Nevertheless, there is always something, some area of our lives we can choose to re-examine in the new year. Below are _ New Year’s Resolutions you can try for 2026. By no means do we intend for you to take them all on at once. Rather, we hope that these recommendations spurn you to craft your own resolutions for the new year.
Resolution #1: Try New Coffee Shops
Stuck in the same old coffee shop routine? Change it up! Coffee shops are constantly coming and going, so there’s a good chance that somewhere near you is a cafe you haven’t given a fair shot yet. If you happen to live in a metropolitan area, then not only are you spoiled for options, you’re spoiled for guides on where to go. But even if you don’t live in the big city, it’s worth it to try a new place! Make an effort to go off the beaten path to give coffee shops that are new, or at least new to you, a fair shot.
Resolution #2: Try a Coffee Subscription
Maybe you’ve gotten really used to the same go-to blends day after day. Who among us hasn’t gravitated to our most familiar, comforting coffee just to not have to think too hard about it? For the new year, consider trying some new coffees, maybe from a roaster that you’ve been meaning to try but haven’t. To be clear, nothing beats going to a local roaster and buying beans directly. But to accomplish this resolution, we recommend you try a coffee subscription.
Subscriptions have really taken off over the past few years, and for good reason. Most roasters with the resources to do it offer their own subscription plans. This is perfectly fine for getting beans from the same roaster each week or month. But we think it’s worth trying a coffee subscription that isn’t limited to just one roaster. Why not have someone curate a selection from a bunch of roasters?
The advantage to a curated subscription: you’ll get to try a lot of very different coffees from very different roasters and origins. This is the adventurer’s choice. Trade, Atlas Coffee Club, Podium Platinum, Fellow Drops, and Bean Box are all options for the adventurous coffee drinker looking to try something new.
Resolution #3: Lower Your Caffeine Intake
We mentioned this resolution already as a common example of a coffee-related goal. But why not? Coffee, though delicious, can easily be over-consumed for its caffeine content. The jitters you get from drinking too much, not to mention the havoc it can wreak on your sleep, are all too familiar. Perhaps for the new year you can try limiting your caffeine intake for the sake of your health.
There are a few ways to go about this. One is to cut off coffee, or at least caffeinated coffee, a few hours before you go to sleep. One good metric is to stop drinking caffeine after lunch. Another option is to limit yourself to just 1 cup of coffee per day. Although the FDA recommends no more than 400mg of caffeine per day, which amounts to roughly 2-3 cups, keeping on the low side could be a good way to manage your caffeine consumption.
Another option is to switch to drinking more decaf. Now before you scoff, consider that decaffeinated coffee can be absolutely delicious. Roasters have only gotten better at crafting excellent deaf as part of their retail lineup, including us! As we discussed last year, you do not have to sacrifice flavor for good sleep, or vice versa. So if you’re wanting to supplement your regular coffee intake with something that won’t give you the jitters, consider decaf!
Resolution #4: Read More About Coffee
Making a resolution to read more might be one of the most common – and commonly failed – New Year’s resolutions. It could be that what you need is a bit more specificity. Allow us to suggest that you read more books about coffee.
There is a whole wide world of coffee literature out there, and new books are cropping up all the time. You’ve got your classic reference texts like James Hoffmann’s World Atlas of Coffee. There’s your histories on coffee like Mark Prendergast’s Uncommon Grounds. You’ve also got guides to tasting like Jessica Easto’s How to Taste Coffee. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to books about coffee.
Consider using the opportunity of the new year to acquaint yourself a little more on the subject of coffee. And while you’re at it, you can even get a little coffee library started!
Conclusion
It’s never too late to think seriously about the goals we want to set for ourselves, and that goes for coffee as much as anything else. We all have our old habits, but this January, you can opt to try some new things, pay more attention to drinking coffee healthily, reading more about coffee. And of course there’s all sorts of ways you can go about this. We hope that your 2026 starts off with a renewed passion for coffee and a re-sparked curiosity for those parts of the coffee world you’ve not encountered yet.