Coffee culture and voting for Democratic presidential candidates seem to go hand-in-hand, according to a recent study.
But Republican-leaning states seem less interested in making a cup of Joe or visiting their local Starbucks.
This is according to analysis by Coffeeness—a company that reviews coffee-related devices—of Google Search and coffee shop data.
Attributing "coffee obsession" points to each state, they found a strong correlation with voting patterns in recent presidential elections.
Of the top 10 coffee-loving states, nine were Democratic leaning, led by Massachusetts, California, Washington, New York and Hawaii, in that order.
And, of the 10 states least bothered with the brew, all of them voted Republican in recent presidential elections, with Mississippi, South Dakota, Kentucky, Arkansas and West Virginia caring the least.
"Our research reveals a fascinating link between political leanings and coffee culture in America," said Coffeeness in a statement. "While coffee lovers can be found in every state, there's a clear trend showing that Democratic-leaning states are more coffee-obsessed than their Republican counterparts.
"The data shows a striking divide, with blue states dominating the top of our rankings. This study provides valuable insights into cultural and consumer trends across the nation."
To come to this conclusion, Coffeeness examined Google Search data for the terms "espresso machine," "coffee maker," "coffee grinder," "coffee near me" and "coffee" in each state.
Then, they divided the total sum of these results by the number of residents in each state, and assigned between one and 50 points to each state depending on how many searches they had per capita.
After this, they found out the number of people there were per coffee shop in each state, and assigned points in the same way.
Combining the two scores, this data was cross referenced with data on the typical voting patterns of each state in recent presidential elections.
Democratic-leaning Massachusetts scored the highest with 89 points, and Mississippi the lowest with just three points.
Overall, states in the Northeast and Pacific were revealed as the Democratic-leaning coffee hotspots, while Southern states were associated with Republican votes and coffee ambivalence.
The correlation between political affiliation and coffee obsession was strong, but there were a few outliers.
Idaho, Ohio, Utah and Texas, for instance, were strongly pro-coffee, but Republican-leaning states. Maine, Delaware, Nevada and New Mexico were less coffee obsessed, yet Democratic-leaning.
However, all these states—except Idaho, which Coffeeness also identified as an outlier—fell in the midrange of coffee warmth, with scores from 43 to 61.
Coffeeness supposed a few reasons why this correlation might exist. Democratic-leaning states tend to have more big cities, where a culture of coffee shops thrives more easily than in rural areas.
Also, the Republican-leaning Southern states tend to have warmer climates, where a hot latte may feel less inviting than a sweet iced tea.
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