FILE PHOTO: A cup of coffee is pictured on a table in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., November 27, 2018. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The number of people in the United States who have coffee every day has increased 5% since 2015, maintaining its ranking as the most consumed beverage in the country, the National Coffee Association (NCA) said in a study released on Thursday.

The group representing the coffee industry said 62% of people in the United States drink some type of coffee every day, adding that consumption of other forms of the beverage such as frozen, blended or cold brews is rising among young people.

The United States is the world’s largest coffee consumer and the top importer of green coffee, the pre-roasted beans that are processed by companies such as Starbucks Corp, Nestle and Kraft Heinz Co.

NCA said 20% of Americans under 40 drink at least one cup of cold brew coffee per week. The drink, which practically did not exist five years ago, is prepared with room temperature water with ground coffee added over a period of up to 12 hours.

The study said the number of people that drink coffee without sugar grew 66% from 2015 to 2020.

Coffee drinkers are also increasingly opting for quality, with sales of gourmet coffee, the brands produced from high-quality beans, up 25% since 2015.