Do you like black coffee, unsweetened tea and dark chocolate? You probably have a "coffee" gene<

The "coffee" gene may contribute to the popularity of coffee, as the Cornelis-led team at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in the past suggests. "People with this gene process caffeine faster, the stimulant effects fade sooner, so they need to drink coffee more often," says the scientist. "That would explain why some can drink relatively much coffee compared to someone who is nervous or anxious after coffee."

In a recent study published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports, Cornelis singled out people who drank black coffee and those who preferred milk and sugar. According to her, individuals with the coffee gene prefer not only bitter coffee, but also unsweetened dark chocolate tea over milk chocolate.

However, the researchers and her team believe that the preferences of these people have nothing to do with the taste of the drink itself. Instead, they came up with the idea that coffee consumers prefer black coffee or tea because they associate the bitter taste with the stimulant mental alertness they desire because of caffeine.

According to Cornelis, the same is true for preferring dark chocolate over milk. "When they imagine caffeine, they get a bitter taste, so they enjoy dark chocolate," he explains. "It's possible that these people are just very sensitive to the effects of caffeine, and they have this learned behavior in other bitter foods."

According to the expert, future studies will try to address the genetic preference of other bitter foods, "which are generally associated with more health benefits."

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