Caffeine's bitter taste will implore you to drink more coffee, study states
| Nov 20, 2018, 13:04 IST
Do you love coffee? Well, it could be because you are sensitive to the bitterness of it! Yes, a new study states that much of the gustatory pleasure we take from coffee comes from its aroma. The study continues to state that people's sensitivity to that bitter taste of coffee plays a role in how much coffee they drink. And the more sensitive you are to bitterness, the more coffee you will drink.
"You'd expect that people who are particularly sensitive to the bitter taste of caffeine would drink less coffee," said Marilyn Cornelis, assistant professor at Northwestern University in the US. "The opposite results of our study suggest coffee consumers acquire a taste or an ability to detect caffeine due to the learned positive reinforcement (ie stimulation) elicited by caffeine," Cornelis said. "People who have a heightened ability to taste coffee's bitterness -- and particularly the distinct bitter flavour of caffeine -- learn to associate good things with it," she said. The study also found people sensitive to the bitter flavours of quinine and of PROP, a synthetic taste related to the compounds in cruciferous vegetables, avoided coffee. "The findings suggest our perception of bitter tastes, informed by our genetics, contributes to the preference for coffee, tea and alcohol," Cornelis said.
"You'd expect that people who are particularly sensitive to the bitter taste of caffeine would drink less coffee," said Marilyn Cornelis, assistant professor at Northwestern University in the US. "The opposite results of our study suggest coffee consumers acquire a taste or an ability to detect caffeine due to the learned positive reinforcement (ie stimulation) elicited by caffeine," Cornelis said. "People who have a heightened ability to taste coffee's bitterness -- and particularly the distinct bitter flavour of caffeine -- learn to associate good things with it," she said. The study also found people sensitive to the bitter flavours of quinine and of PROP, a synthetic taste related to the compounds in cruciferous vegetables, avoided coffee. "The findings suggest our perception of bitter tastes, informed by our genetics, contributes to the preference for coffee, tea and alcohol," Cornelis said.