<p>I recently visited a coffee festival in Amsterdam and there were some discussion on this topic, or more generally about the effects of caffeine on our perception of taste. Apparently, research has shown that caffeine makes it harder for us to taste sweetness. After a bit of googling i founds the study I think they were referring to <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1750-3841.13836" rel="nofollow noreferrer">here</a>. The abstract gives you pretty good idea about the study so I won't paraphrase here. </p>

<p>This perception of sweet food as less sweet apparently makes us crave and enjoy sweets more, which might explain what you have experienced.  </p>

<p>Another explanation I've heard is that sweet food compensates for the bitterness of coffee but I couldn't find any scientific evidence for that :)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-25T15:52:30.687Z
nice ... but it does not explain the specific effect of black coffee
lbf
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-27T09:36:13.783Z
@lbf you mean that it doesn't show this effect for coffee specifically and potentially any caffeinated drink/caffeine tabs could have the same effect?
schvaba
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-20T16:39:37.070Z
2019-03-20T16:39:37.070Z
schvaba
<p>Just wondered why my black moccomaster filter coffee from bean tastes so good with sugary foods like donuts and ice cream. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-25T22:32:32.177Z
A scholarly article on taste bud physiology would be nice.  We know caffeine works on the brain, but many decaf-coffee consumers prefer black too.  I suspect the magic is at the tongue, not in the brain.
lbf
<brewing-process><ground-coffee><beans><coffee-culture>
Why do sugary foods taste so good with black filter coffee (no sugar)?
user32613
# Why do sugary foods taste so good with black filter coffee (no sugar)?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-03-17)

Just wondered why my black moccomaster filter coffee from bean tastes so good with sugary foods like donuts and ice cream.

**Tags:** brewing-process, ground-coffee, beans, coffee-culture

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: A scholarly article on taste bud physiology would be nice.  We know caffeine works on the brain, but many decaf-coffee consumers prefer black too.  I suspect the magic is at the tongue, not in the brain.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-03-20. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

I recently visited a coffee festival in Amsterdam and there were some discussion on this topic, or more generally about the effects of caffeine on our perception of taste. Apparently, research has shown that caffeine makes it harder for us to taste sweetness. After a bit of googling i founds the study I think they were referring to [here](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1750-3841.13836). The abstract gives you pretty good idea about the study so I won't paraphrase here.

This perception of sweet food as less sweet apparently makes us crave and enjoy sweets more, which might explain what you have experienced.

Another explanation I've heard is that sweet food compensates for the bitterness of coffee but I couldn't find any scientific evidence for that :)

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: nice ... but it does not explain the specific effect of black coffee  
> **username_2**: @username_1 you mean that it doesn't show this effect for coffee specifically and potentially any caffeinated drink/caffeine tabs could have the same effect?  

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