Coffee drinkers in Britain down a whopping 70 million cuppas every morning with type preferences which are as varied as the beans they’re made from.
Today’s coffee culture and wide selection of equipment as well as independent and chain coffee shops on every corner means most of us know exactly what our favourites are and how we take them.
Most people will simply consider this their choice and taste, however clinical psychologist Dr Ramani Durvasula believes each individuals’ coffee selection says more about us than we think, according to The Independent. She delved into the characters of 1,000 coffee drinkers for her experiment, searching for what might be revealed about our personalities from our beverage options.
What her results revealed were fascinating. Dr Durvasula claimed those whose first choice was black coffee tended to be no-nonsense characters and preferred to keep life simple, however they could also show traits of impatience, abruptness and averseness to change.
To counteract that, latte lovers lean more towards pleasing others but could have neurotic features. Cappuccino devotees were branded controlling and obsessive, with inclinations of over-sensitivity and highly conscious about their health.
Those who preferred instant coffee are said to be more laid-back and likely to put things off and be procrastinators. Dr Durvasula said drinkers who liked to drink coffee cold, like frozen coffees, and particularly sweet were prone to being trend-setters with characteristics of being reckless.
The clinical psychologist set out to identify common behaviours and traits in Britons, assessing attributes such as patience, warmth, sensitivity, boldness, introversion, perfectionism and vigilance.
According to the The Daily Mail, Dr Durvasula’s research, outlined in her book You Are WHY You Eat: Change Your Food Attitude, Change Your Life, the participants were asked to give their answers based on common scenarios, such as while they waited in queues or planning a dinner party for friends.
Dr Durvasula admitted that, despite her findings, ‘we are no more defined by our coffee orders than we are by our astrological signs’ and that we are usually a mixture of all types of coffee drinker.
So the next time you go to order your favourite morning pick-me-up, your afternoon cake side-kick or your chat-over-the-foam-with-a-friend, think about what it says, or doesn’t say, about you.