Coffee is a widely popular beverage. It not only promotes alertness through the day but also offers a host of health benefits. However, a new study suggests that coffee could also alter your taste perception.
When you drink caffeinated coffee, your sense of taste may be changed, for however long that effect remains. Therefore, if you eat food immediately after having any caffeinated beverage, the taste may appear different. In particular, your ability to taste sweetness may get altered, making you crave for more sugar, a group of researchers claimed.
A total of 107 participants were enrolled for a study and divided into two groups. One group was given decaffeinated coffee supplemented with 200 mg of caffeine (deemed average for a strong cup of coffee) with a specified amount of sugar. The second group was given decaffeinated coffee with the same amount of sugar.
The results showed that the participants in the caffeinated group considered their drinks to be less sweet than those in the decaffeinated group. The former group eventually desired for more sugar.
The authors explained that caffeine inhibits adenosine receptors, which are the structures in your brain that induce drowsiness. Hence, you feel more alert after taking coffee. However, it also changes the way your brain responds to certain tastes, they added.
Source: Journal of Food Science