Why do people drink coffee? Well, it’s probably not for the taste. Seriously: drinking black coffee does take some getting used to! Just ask any 8 year old who begs Mom for a taste (after seeing her smile and sigh contentedly after the first sip every morning for years) finally take a gulp and start to wonder about her mother’s sanity. (“This!? This you love!? What is WRONG with you!?”)
Humans are hardwired to be repelled by bitterness, probably because most bitter-tasting things are toxic. Our ancestors may have noticed a buddy taking a bite of (what turned out to be) a poisonous leaf, making the universal “Yuk, that’s bitter!” face before collapsing, then took mental notes: “Bitter bad; bitter death.”
Unsweetened coffee tends to taste bitter. So if bitter is “bad,” why do humans drink coffee? Sure, we can sweeten a cup of coffee up so much it no longer either looks like coffee (adding cream and/or whipped cream on top), plus so much sugar, other sweeteners and flavors until it tastes nothing like coffee at all, but the first humans to drink coffee centuries ago could only pershaps sweeten it with honey, which doesn’t mask coffee’s bitterness.
So what gives? Why did the first coffee drinkers embrace a drink that tastes so bitter?
One theory holds that people will eat bitter foods and liquids when it gives them something in return, some sort of pharmacalogical benefit. As we all know, coffee has caffeine in it, a substanct that gives us energy, helps keep us awake, gives us more mental clarity. In fact, research has shown that caffeine can improve our overall cognitive function.
When early adaptors found that coffee helped keep them alert and awake while – let’s say – standing guard over a sleeping village when known enemies were in the area – they were able to outweight the benefits over the bitterness, and their bodies were able to accept (withstand?) coffee’s flavor.
But this isn’t the case with everyone: some of us may taste the chemicals that make coffee bitter more than others. People whose taste receptors are less sensitive, may be better able to “accept” coffee’s bitter taste. (More sensitive drinkers may be the ones asking for that hot caramel mocha, heavy on the whipped cream, to mask coffe’s bitterness.
Just remember, if you enjoy your coffee black, you’re pretty much working against innate human nature. And that rather does make you one tough hominid rebel!
Premium organic coffee such as Ubean Coffee tends to be less bitter than conventionally grown coffee. If you haven’t tried a cup of Ubean yet, find a distributor near you and give us a try.