To some, sipping a cup of coffee or tea for at least fifteen minutes whether in the early morning, in the afternoon, or as a nightcap every day is absolutely essential. People love these beverages because they are much-needed as an instant picker-upper, a source of inspiration, and simply because people are genetically wired to opt for these bitter-tasting elixirs.
A recent study published in Nature Scientific Reports reveals that a person’s preference for coffee or tea has something to do with one’s genes and how they affect a person’s experience of bitter flavors.
Genetics Influences Preference for Coffee or Tea
The study examined more than 400, 000 men and women in the UK between the ages of 37 to 73. They used a method called “Mendelian Randomization” to compare their coffee and tea intake. It was found that people who carried the bitter taste receptor genes for caffeine were more inclined to be heavy coffee drinkers. They can drink up to more than four cups a day.
This also means, these coffee drinkers drank less tea and find this drink more enjoyable and flavorful. Marilyn Cornelis, assistant professor of preventative medicine at the Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine, adds that “coffee consumers obtain a taste or an ability to detect caffeine due to the learned positive reinforcement elicited by caffeine.” So, people who are genetically programmed to like the bitterness of coffee associate “good things” with it, says Cornelis.
On the other hand, people who had the bitter taste receptors for quinine and propylthiouracil or PROP (a man-made bitter substance) are more likely to choose tea because of their sensitivity to bitterness in general. In the study, it is seen that genes for bitter taste perception are linked with the amount of coffee and tea people drink.
However, it is to be noted that bitter taste perception is also shaped by environmental factors, not just genetics. Co-writer of the study, Liang-Dar Hwang of the University of Queensland Diamantina Institute explained that even if people dislike bitterness by nature, being exposed to environmental factors may make us like the bitter taste of food.