Caffeine May Affect Your Taste Buds Temporarily Says Study

A new research has found that caffeine tampers with our taste buds and can make food taste less sweet. The effect is however temporary but can lead to sugar craving as the food may seem a little bland after having your morning cuppa.

This research by the Cornell University that caffeine is a powerful antagonist of adenosine receptors that help in sleep and relaxation. The act of caffeine suppressing these receptors may wake people up but reduces their ability to taste sweetness.

The research called, “Caffeine May Reduce Perceived Sweet Taste in Humans, Supporting Evidence That Adenosine Receptors Modulate Taste,” was published by senior author Robin Dando, assistant professor of food science along with lead authors Ezen Choo and Benjamin Picket. The research published in the Journal of Food Science shows taste modulation in the real world.

“When you drink caffeinated coffee, it will change how you perceive taste — for however long that effect lasts. So if you eat food directly after drinking a caffeinated coffee or other caffeinated drinks, you will likely perceive food differently,” said Dando talking about the study. It was a blind experiment where a group was given decaffeinated coffee with 200 milligrams of caffeine added to it. This was done to make it seem like real coffee.

Another group was simply given decaffeinated coffee and both groups a sugar–added brew. The group that had caffeinated brew called it less sweet. In the second part of the study the alertness level of the groups was recorded which turned out to be similar in both groups. In fact, they could not be sure whether they had caffeinated or the decaffeinated version.

“We think there might be a placebo or a conditioning effect to the simple action of drinking coffee,” said Dando. “Think Pavlov’s dog. The act of drinking coffee — with the aroma and taste — is usually followed by alertness. So the panelists felt alert even if the caffeine was not there,” said Dando. “What seems to be important is the action of drinking that coffee. Just the action of thinking that you’ve done the things that make you feel more awake, makes you feel more awake.”