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The combination of coffee and cigarettes has stood the test of time. Today, people combine the two habits — smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee — as part of their daily ritual, culture, or personal preference. In a previous post, we talk about coffee and the diverse variations of it available around the world and highlight tobacco as one of many coffee notes we can taste in Indonesian coffee, providing a deeper flavor that enhances a coffee’s earthiness.
Some coffee beans go through the semi-wash processing method, a washed and unwashed process hybrid. This creates earthier coffee notes like tobacco, showing how deeply intertwined tobacco and coffee are. Still, tobacco is known to impact human health negatively, increasing the risk of various health conditions.
In this article, we’ll look at the complex relationship between coffee and cigarettes, how they affect your ability to taste coffee and explore some smoking cessation tips to ensure an optimal coffee-tasting experience:
The impact of tobacco on taste
As mentioned above, it’s widely known and accepted that smoking cigarettes and other tobacco products harms one’s health. However, research on the impact of tobacco on taste perception also note that smokers report other unhealthy behaviors that can aggravate the risk of developing chronic diseases. These behaviors include poor diet, an elevated intake of energy-dense foods, and excessive alcohol consumption.
At the same time, smoking is known to lead to taste alterations. Researchers highlight that smoking can lead to a diminished taste intensity on the tip of the tongue, which is associated with significant dietary and health outcomes. Of course, this would also impact how you taste coffee, like making it taste more bitter than it should.
Depressed bitterness on the tongue tip has been associated with poor diet quality. Lower bitter taste sensations on the tongue tip have also been associated with elevated central adiposity — an accumulation of excess fat around the abdominal or central area of the body. This fat distribution is also associated with an increased risk of various health concerns, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome.
Still, according to this study, many smokers enjoy having their first cigarettes of the day alongside their morning coffee. Researchers found that smokers report a higher appreciation for coffee with their first cigarettes of the day, as certain effects of unroasted and roasted coffee beans can impact the brain’s nicotine receptors. In other words, a smoker’s first cup of coffee can help balance the effects of the day’s first cigarette in the brain.
Even though nicotine isn’t as harmful as other ingredients found in cigarettes, heavy use and consumption of it is typically associated with an increased risk of anxiety and depression, among others. As such, having coffee in the morning can help smokers reduce these side effects throughout the day.
Smoking cessation tips
As discussed above, cigarette smoking can significantly impact how you taste and consume coffee. You can likely benefit from quitting the cigarette habit to ensure a better coffee-tasting and drinking experience.
Of course, this is often easier said than done. Fortunately, many tobacco and pharmaceutical companies today are investing in alternative nicotine products that provide microdoses of nicotine and lead to eventual cessation.
One of the latest nicotine products is nicotine pouches, which have become increasingly accessible via various online retailers like this website. These pouches are a smoke-free and tobacco-free alternative to cigarettes and other traditional tobacco products that help reduce or relieve withdrawal symptoms for smokers. Many nicotine pouch brands also offer various coffee flavors for coffee lovers to access nicotine without the harm caused by tobacco and tar.
Another essential smoking cessation product is the nicotine patch, which helps distribute microdoses of nicotine via your skin. This makes them easy to use without impacting your taste buds or ability to taste coffee. One study also highlights that nicotine doesn’t cause the harmful effects that tobacco and tar in cigarettes do. The nicotine patch also stands out as it distributes nicotine more evenly and slowly.
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