Research suggests that genetics can influence how people perceive the taste of coffee, specifically if you know bitter or not. A study by the Technical University of Munich identified new bitter compounds in Arabica roast and examined its impact on taste. The study also found that an individual’s genetic composition plays a role in determining the bitterness of these compounds. The results were published in Food Chemistry magazine. The beans of the ‘Arabica Coffea’ plant are tan to develop a flavor before being ground and prepared for a drink. While it is known that caffeine has a bitter taste for a long time, even decaffeinated coffee knows bitter, possibly suggesting that there are other substances that contribute to the bitter taste of roasted coffee, the researchers said.
The ‘Mozambiósido’ is one of those substances in the Arabic beans, which is known to know approximately 10 times more bitter than caffeine and activates two of the approximately 25 bitter taste receptors in the human body, namely the ‘TAS2R43 receptors ‘and’ Tas2r46 ‘. However, we find that Mozambio -yoles levels fall significantly during toast and, therefore, the substance “only makes a small contribution to the bitterness of coffee,” according to principal researcher Roman Lang. “This led us to try if the roasted produces mozambio -gosid decomposition are also bitter and could affect the taste of coffee,” Lang said.
The team showed that the Mozambiósida degrades in seven different products during toast, which are found in variable quantities in roasted coffee, depending on the temperature and duration of the toast. Through experiments in the cells, it was found that the seven products activate the same bitter taste receptors as the Mozambiósido. Three of the roasted products even had a stronger effect on the receptors, compared to the original mozambiósida, the researchers said. However, they also discovered that the concentrations of these roasted products measured in the prepared coffee were too low to induce a remarkable flavor on their own. Only a combination of Mozambiósida and its roasted products in a sample led eight of eleven participants to perceive a bitter taste, the team said.
In addition, a genetic test showed that the sensitivity of flavor depended on the genetic inclination of the participants: two had both copies of the variant of the faulty TAS2R43 gene, seven had an intact and defective variant of the gene, while only two people had copies of The two copies of the intact gene. “The new findings deepen our understanding of how the roasted process influences the taste of coffee and opens new possibilities to develop coffee varieties with coordinated flavor profiles.
Lang said the discovery is an important step in the research of flavor and health. “Bitter substances and their receptors have more physiological functions in the body, most of which are still unknown,” Lang said. Although millions of people drink coffee daily, Lang emphasized that a lot of work is left, since the bitter taste receptors activated by many coffee compounds are not yet identified.
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