Caffeine is the craving culprit

Coffee is often paired with sweet treats such as cakes and donuts, and research from Cornell University suggests there is a reason for this.

A study conducted by Robin Dando, Assistant Professor of Food Science, along with lead authors Ezen Choo and Benjamin Picket found that consuming caffeine temporarily impacts a person’s ability to taste sweetness, and as a result people often crave it more.

Caffeine works against adenosine receptors, which promote relaxation and sleepiness, which is why coffee often makes people feel more alert. However, when researching the taste modulation in the real world, researchers found that caffeine may impact a person’s receptors.

“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,” explained Dando.

Published in the Journal of Food Science, the blind study randomly split participants into two groups. One group had decaffeinated coffee while the other sampled decaffeinated coffee with 200 milligrams of caffeine added in a laboratory setting, making it into a strong coffee. This stimulant created a drink that was consistent with real-life amounts of caffeine. Both groups had sugar added.

Those drinking the caffeinated coffee rated it as less sweet than those consuming the decaffeinated coffee. This led researchers to believe that caffeine has the ability to dampen down taste receptors.

In a secondary part of the study, participants disclosed their level of alertness and estimated the amount of caffeine in their coffee. Participants could not determine if they had consumed caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee, and both groups suggested they had the same increase in alertness.

Dando attributed this to a placebo effect in which the simple act of drinking coffee is sufficient to make the individual feel more alert because they are expecting to.

“Think Pavlov’s dog. The act of drinking coffee — with the aroma and taste — is usually followed by alertness. So the panellists felt alert even if the caffeine was not there,” said Dando. “Just the action of thinking that you’ve done the things that make you feel more awake, makes you feel more awake.”

Overall, drinking decaffeinated coffee could produce the same alert feelings without the cravings for sugary food.