[4] NCA's membership comprises mainly small and mid-sized companies, including coffee growers, roasters, retailers, as well as importers/exporters and wholesaler/suppliers.

Started in 1950, this branch of the NCA surveys coffee consumption in the United States, producing a statistical research report published annually.

[5][6] In response to twenty years of declining coffee consumption, the association launched a $20 million "Join the Coffee Achievers" advertising campaign on September 11, 1983.

Aimed at the 18-to-34 age group, the television commercials featured Ken Anderson, David Bowie, Jane Curtin, Joe Jackson, Allison Roe, Cicely Tyson, Kurt Vonnegut and Heart's Ann and Nancy Wilson, and had Electric Light Orchestra's "Hold On Tight" as the theme song.

The campaign was criticized by the Center for Science in the Public Interest's Michael F. Jacobson who targeted statements about coffee providing "serenity and contentment" as being incorrect and misleading.