A multi-country citizen-science study on what makes us enjoy a cup of coffee
npj Science of Food, vol.10, no.1, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 10 Issue: 1
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.1038/s41538-026-00832-5
- Journal Name: npj Science of Food
- Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, Food Science & Technology Abstracts, INSPEC, Directory of Open Access Journals, Natural Science Collection (ProQuest)
- Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection
- Istanbul Gelisim University Affiliated: No
Abstract
Many coffee preferences are known, but studies that comprehensively integrate simultaneous contributions to coffee enjoyment are lacking. An online citizen-science questionnaire designed to identify those factors associated with momentary coffee liking, surveying demographics, extrinsic/intrinsic qualities, and coffee-related habits, is presented (N = 2987; 5 continents; 7 languages; 11 countries; 77 nationalities). The results indicate a higher liking for coffee consumed black, during spring, in the morning, on Wednesdays, and from ceramic cups. Higher-priced coffee is appreciated significantly more, and liking-consumption quantity appears best-optimised at 4–5 cups/day. Several key characteristics for coffee-dislike are evident: waking-up late, drinking from a cup with a lid on, at noon during autumn, with cream, and, potentially implying a possible coping mechanism for bitterness-disliking, adding sugar to coffee. These results constitute the first multi-country cross-context integration of momentary coffee liking and provide an empirical foundation for context-sensitive models linking sensory/behavioural/temporal factors in beverage preference research.