Why you put sugar in your coffee – and it’s NOT because you’ve got a sweet tooth

Tooth isn’t the only reason some of us add a spoonful of sugar to our coffee.

A new study shows that sugar reduces the drink’s bitterness by changing its fundamental chemistry.

Scientists have found that caffeine, sugar and water interact at a molecular level to block the bitter taste that some coffee drinkers dislike.

The study explains that while caffeine may be reviving, it’s also responsible for the bitterness associated with tea and coffee.

Previous research has shown that caffeine molecules tend to stick to each other when in water and this tendency is enhanced by sugar.

Until now, scientists thought this was down to the strengthening of bonds between water molecules around the sugar.

But the new study shows the underlying cause is the affinity between sugar molecules and water, which causes caffeine molecules to stick together.

It’s thought this happens so caffeine molecules can avoid the sugar.

This is why we experience less of the bitter taste when we drink a sugared cup of coffee, according to Dr Shimizu.

He used statistical thermodynamics to investigate the molecular-level activities and interactions behind the spoonful of sugar in coffee.

Source: Mail Online

N.H.Khider