A multi-country citizen-science study on what makes us enjoy a cup of coffee

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.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
npj Science of Food
Published
2026-04-22
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-026-00832-5
Primary Topic
Coffee research and impacts
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

A multi-country citizen-science study on what makes us enjoy a cup of coffee

George Van Doorn, Fabiana M. Carvalho, Kosuke Motoki, Ana‐Maria Andrei et al.
npj Science of Food
Coffee research and impacts
article

A multi-country citizen-science study on what makes us enjoy a cup of coffee

George Van Doorn, Fabiana M. Carvalho, Kosuke Motoki, Ana‐Maria Andrei, Georgiana Juravle, Valentina Goglio, Delia Elena Diaconaşu, Simone Schmidt, Felipe Reinoso-Carvalho, Charles Spence, Ceyhun Uçuk, Simon D’Alfonso
article en

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.

npj Science of Food
Ştefan cel Mare University of Suceava (RO), Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (RO), Federation University (AU), Universidad de Los Andes (CO), The University of Melbourne (AU), Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP) (BR), Keio University (JP), University of Oxford (GB), İstanbul Gelişim Üniversitesi (TR), University of Turin (IT), Gaziantep University (TR)
Openalex Percentile: Top 16%
Coffee research and impacts
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.