Nav: Home > Coffee News >

Why is the coffee so bitter? where does it taste good? how can it not be too bitter? coffee increases its sweetness sensitivity.

Published: 2026-08-02 Author: World Gafei

Last Updated: 2026/08/02, In the days when I used to go to school, I stayed up all night to study for every important exam, and I always had a cup of coffee on hand. Even if it was three-in-one coffee, my friends would ask with great concern, is it bitter? Later, when I went to college and drank hand-made coffee in the dormitory, my roommate asked, "is it bitter?" And the answer they got was that as long as they rushed well, they would not suffer. Then to

In the days when I used to go to school, I stayed up all night to study for every important exam, and I always had a cup of coffee on hand. Even if it was three-in-one coffee, my friends would ask with great concern, is it bitter?

Later, when I went to college and drank hand-made coffee in the dormitory, my roommate asked, "is it bitter?"

And the answer they got was that as long as they rushed well, they would not suffer.

And now, when I go to a coffee shop on a date with friends, I order espresso, and I don't even want to drink the ice water for fear that the taste will be diluted. The friend looked strangely at the man who was not afraid of hardship, and even thought that there was something wrong with his sense of taste.

So is the coffee really not bitter? Many people will say that coffee is bitter; at the same time, some people who know the art of coffee will say that it is not bitter.

Can you guess why?

The bitterness in coffee can enhance people's perception of sweetness and inhibit the feeling of bitterness, according to a study.

The study, called Chemosensory Sensitivity after Coffee Consumption Is Not Static: Short-Term Effects on Gustatory and Olfactory Sensitivity, is published in the scientific journal Foods. Researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark recruited 156 subjects to test the effects of coffee on taste and smell.

After determining the 156 subjects' basic sense of taste and smell, they were asked to drink a cup of lukewarm espresso.

Soon after, all the subjects were asked to drink a glass of water to clean their mouths. Then, take a second taste and smell level test.

In the test results, the researchers found no change in smell, but after drinking coffee, the taste became more sensitive to sweetness and less sensitive to bitterness.

In order to find out whether taste sensitivity is related to caffeine intake, the researchers conducted an additional small test: in the same test procedure, replace coffee with decaffeinated coffee.

It was found that, regardless of the amount of caffeine, the subjects were better able to perceive the sweetness of the food they ate after drinking coffee.

The result runs counter to previous perceptions that exposure to bitter compounds, especially caffeine and quinine in coffee, suppresses people's ability to perceive sweetness. The study shows that human sensory perception is more complex, and researchers have said it is possible that combinations of other compounds in espresso affect people's perception of taste.

It seems that it is no wonder that afternoon tea and coffee are served with a dessert, and the coffee has to choose the kind of coffee that is deeply roasted and mellow, and it tastes good when you try it.

But the question is, if espresso tastes bitter and sweet at the same time, does it mean that after drinking the first espresso, the second cup will become sweeter instead of bitter? Or, after a cup of espresso, a cup of shasha herbal tea will feel less bitter?

Now that the problem has been raised, we have to put it into practice. Although it is already evening, two cups of espresso can not be left. All right, it's time for espresso with typhoid, bye~.

Photo Source: Internet

For more information about coffee beans, please follow the coffee workshop (Wechat official account cafe_style)

For professional coffee knowledge exchange, please add Wechat account kaixinguoguo0925.

FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou China, selling freshly roasted beans from its own farm in Yunnan as well as dozens of carefully selected single-origin beans from around the world for both pour-over and espresso. The products deliver consistently excellent quality and great value, with shipping within 24 hours. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers, and the beans are now available online at the Tmall 。