Sugar tweaks basic chemistry of tea, coffee to hide bitterness

Having coffee with sugar to reduce bitterness? A new study has revealed that sugar masks the bitterness of coffee and tea by manipulate the fundamental chemistry of the beverages.

University of York research has given tea and coffee drinkers new information about why their favourite drinks taste as they do.

Lead author Dr Seishi Shimizu's research suggested that the underlying cause was the affinity between sugar molecules and water, which in turn makes the caffeine molecules stick together in order to avoid the sugar.

Shimizu used statistical thermodynamics to investigate the molecular-level activities and interactions behind our daily food and drink.

Dr Shimizu said that it was delightful indeed that food and drink questions can be solved using theory, with equipment no more complex than a pen and paper.

He added that they were working hard to reveal more about the molecular basis of food and cooking.

The research is published in the journal Food and Function.