# Substances used as both drugs and flavorings **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 22, 2016, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substances-used-as-both-drugs-and-flavorings/743882 "2016-01-22T14:56:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2016, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substances-used-as-both-drugs-and-flavorings/743882/21 "2016-01-23T09:07:11Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’m not saying bitter isn’t a flavor, I’m saying caffeine isn’t added to get a bitter flavor, it’s added as a stimulant. > [@TriPolar](#): > > Caffeine is bitter. It’s not added for flavor. Speak for yourself . Decaf coffee is bland and flat tasting compared to regular. Of course that’s not a case where it is explicitly added for flavour, but it’s presence is an important component of flavour. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2016, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substances-used-as-both-drugs-and-flavorings/743882/22 "2016-01-23T14:39:01Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Speak for yourself . Decaf coffee is bland and flat tasting compared to regular. This could just mean that the decaffeination process alters the flavor of coffee. Coffee is decaffeinated by soaking it in hot water or some other solvent. It would be interesting to see if adding pure caffeine to decaf coffee makes it taste like regular coffee - I doubt it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2016, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substances-used-as-both-drugs-and-flavorings/743882/23 "2016-01-23T17:12:05Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > This could just mean that the decaffeination process alters the flavor of coffee. Coffee is decaffeinated by soaking it in hot water or some other solvent. It would be interesting to see if adding pure caffeine to decaf coffee makes it taste like regular coffee - I doubt it. Good point. Perhaps, however, the key thing that decaf lacks is bitterness. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2016, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substances-used-as-both-drugs-and-flavorings/743882/24 "2016-01-23T20:10:36Z")
When you “drug” are you considering only psychoactive drugs? (As examples in this thread. To which I add poppy seeds, which occasionally results in a tripping Hasid at the hospital.) Because the overlap “therapeutic drug” and “component of diet” ranges from ubiquitous (at the “eat-greens-and-get-more x, y, and z” to a unity, by definition, in an entire civilization. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2016, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substances-used-as-both-drugs-and-flavorings/743882/25 "2016-01-23T20:16:18Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’m not saying bitter isn’t a flavor, I’m saying caffeine isn’t added to get a bitter flavor, it’s added as a stimulant. What about root beer? I’ve heard people say they can taste the bitterness the caffeine gives to Barq’s Root Beer, and that that’s what their “Barq’s has bite” slogan refers to. I had assumed it was talking about the stimulant effect of the caffeine, myself… ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2016, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substances-used-as-both-drugs-and-flavorings/743882/26 "2016-01-23T20:17:49Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Speak for yourself . Decaf coffee is bland and flat tasting compared to regular. > > Of course that’s not a case where it is explicitly added for flavour, but it’s presence is an important component of flavour. Again, I’m pointing out these things aren’t added for their flavor. Dr. Strangeloves’s could be further proof of that, though I think it just proves peoples ability to distinguish flavors isn’t as good as they think. In blind taste tests people are very bad at identifying many flavors. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2016, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substances-used-as-both-drugs-and-flavorings/743882/27 "2016-01-23T20:28:56Z")
I don’t now how well they work, but many people use peppermint leaves or peppermint oil for medicinal purposes. Some use basil as treatment for stomach pain. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2016, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substances-used-as-both-drugs-and-flavorings/743882/28 "2016-01-23T20:32:28Z")
Thyme is touted as a natural antiseptic in some circles, and some New Agers say sage is a great treatment for mouth and throat inflammation. I offer no opinion as to whether those claims are true. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2016, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substances-used-as-both-drugs-and-flavorings/743882/29 "2016-01-23T21:14:36Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Caffeine is bitter. It’s not added for flavor. Soft drink makers do indeed add caffeine for flavor, or at least they claim to. I found an interesting study that showed that the flavor isn’t detectable by many people, implying that it is really added simply for the stimulant effect, which is no surprise to anyone. > **[Is caffeine a flavoring agent in cola soft drinks? - PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10927712/)** > > The finding that only 8% of a group of regular cola soft drink consumers could detect the effect of the caffeine concentration found in most cola soft drinks is at variance with the claim made by soft drink manufacturers that caffeine is added to... ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2016, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substances-used-as-both-drugs-and-flavorings/743882/30 "2016-01-23T21:57:28Z")
Licorice is used in cough and stomach medicines (and not just as a flavouring in the medicines) ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2016, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substances-used-as-both-drugs-and-flavorings/743882/31 "2016-01-23T22:09:22Z")
Isn’t ascorbic acid (vitamin C) sometimes added for flavor? Though I’m not sure if you can call that a drug… ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2016, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substances-used-as-both-drugs-and-flavorings/743882/32 "2016-01-23T22:35:53Z")
Chocolate contains a psychoactive … There was the old myth about fermenting banana… Some people like the taste of cannabis products… Poppy seeds are used for taste on buns and can deliver detectable levels of opiate… like you used opium 100 days ago. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substances-used-as-both-drugs-and-flavorings/743882/33 "2016-01-24T00:43:18Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Speak for yourself . Decaf coffee is bland and flat tasting compared to regular. > > Of course that’s not a case where it is explicitly added for flavour, but it’s presence is an important component of flavour. I can tell the difference between caffeinated and non-caffeinated sodas. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substances-used-as-both-drugs-and-flavorings/743882/34 "2016-01-24T08:06:22Z")
> [@Isilder](#): > > Chocolate contains a psychoactive … > > There was the old myth about fermenting banana… > > Some people like the taste of cannabis products… It’s a triaditional flavouring in Vietnam, the same way that parsly and sage are in some western dishes. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substances-used-as-both-drugs-and-flavorings/743882/35 "2016-01-24T15:33:02Z")
Coca and Cola are both drugs, and I think both banned now (or at least controlled) in the USA, with substitutes used for the flavorings of Coca Cola… ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substances-used-as-both-drugs-and-flavorings/743882/36 "2016-01-24T15:53:09Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > Speaking of bitter, we have [Angostura bitters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angostura_bitters), now used to flavor cocktails, but originally sold as a medicinal tonic. Well, Coca Cola syrup was sold as a tonic originally, too. Some doctors still prescribe it for stomach pain, or did in the eighties. Not sure if it works for stomach pain, and ‘tonic’ is general enough that I’m not sure it counts. Although caffeine has analgesic properties. Were the bitters meant to be taken with alcohol? Do they have any caffeine? > [@jtur88](#): > > Coca and Cola are both drugs, and I think both banned now (or at least controlled) in the USA, with substitutes used for the flavorings of Coca Cola… Good one. The original recipe for Coca Cola included coca leaves, which introduced trace amounts of cocaine. [That was removed in 1903.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-Cola_formula#History) The kola nut supplied caffeine. That counts. The recipe(s) for Coke are secret, but the wiki entry for cola says that most colas use other caffeinating ingredients now. So we don’t know how it gets in today, but it counts. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substances-used-as-both-drugs-and-flavorings/743882/37 "2016-01-24T20:48:30Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Another bitter substance. I know there are people who like tonic water for some reason that non-psychotic people don’t understand, but the Gin and Tonic drink was designed to kill the horrid flavor of quinine. It’s a matter of taste, not psychosis. I’ve always liked tonic & lime, even as a kid. Years later, I found out what it tastes like with gin in it. These days, I don’t do the gin, but I’ll still have a tonic & lime every few days. Justin Warner, author of The Laws of Cooking said this on Splendid Table: > [@](#): > > VD: What was the hardest law for you to come up with? > > JW: I want to say it was the law of gin and tonic. It required a lot of research on the Internet because these are all based on things that we don’t understand. The law of gin and tonic is based on how compounds that we smell are in foods. > > For example, the gin and tonic, our noses knew that quinine, juniper and lime all had similar aromatic compounds. Our noses knew that, but we didn’t scientifically know that. We were drinking this in malaria times. Wild, right? So that was a tough one to pin down. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/substances-used-as-both-drugs-and-flavorings/743882.md?page=1)