Coffee's bitter taste comes from dark roasts, researchers find

Bloomberg News
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 08.22.2007

Coffee lovers who want to avoid a bitter cup of morning brew should stay away from darker roasts, according to scientists who claim to have isolated the chemical compounds responsible for harsh-tasting java.

Caffeine, often blamed for coffee's perceived bitterness, is less at fault than other compounds in the cup, according to the study, presented Tuesday at an American Chemical Society meeting in Boston. The culprits include chlorogenic acid lactones and phenylindanes, compounds only found in roasted beans, not in green or raw coffee beans.

"Roasting is the key factor driving bitter taste in coffee beans," said the lead study author, Thomas Hofmann, a professor of food chemistry and molecular sensory science at Technical University of Munich, in a statement. "The stronger you roast the coffee, the more harsh it tends to get."

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