# Sweet African beans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 30, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-african-beans/333427 "2005-11-30T19:16:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mathochist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c89c15/32.png) [@Mathochist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mathochist)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-african-beans/333427/1 "2005-11-30T19:16:16Z")
On a long drive late last night, I tuned into the BBC world service on whatever the local NPR station in the area was. One of the pieces was on a cafe in Japan which centered its business around a bean from West Africa which – supposedly – when chewed makes everything one eats taste sweet. The field reporter talked through chomping one to spread it over his tongue and then ate a raw lemon wedge, then raved about how it was downright sugary. [ul] [li] The cafe refers to them as “magic fruit” or “magic beans”. What are they really called?[/li][li] Do they actually work?[/li][li] If so, is there a biological/biochemical explanation of how they work? (shorting out other taste buds so only the sweet gets through?)[/li][li] Can someone in the US get them without the overhead of a trip to Tokyo?[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-african-beans/333427/2 "2005-11-30T22:35:44Z")
Well, just dang you! 😉 You really dredged up a long-ago memory…I remember reading about something that does just what you say; and that’s ALL I remember. I have already spent over an hour searching the internet for some reference, to no avail. Now I can not quite quit trying to find out what it was. Help! ---
**Author:** ![tiltypig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@tiltypig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiltypig)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-african-beans/333427/3 "2005-11-30T22:40:04Z")
Oooh! Oooh! I know! I know! Miracle berries! [http://www.google.com/search?q=african+miracle+berries+sweet&hl=en&lr=](http://www.google.com/search?q=african+miracle+berries+sweet&hl=en&lr=) ---
**Author:** ![LiveOnAPlane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3d9bf3/32.png) [@LiveOnAPlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LiveOnAPlane)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-african-beans/333427/4 "2005-11-30T22:54:38Z")
Oh, wow. THANK YOU!! I was soooo close, in addition to everything else I tried in Google, I used the terms “Magic Fruit” and “Magic Beans” as well as a lot of other terms and got nowhere. I thank you. My client (although they don’t know it) thanks you, too, for my being able to concentrate on the task at hand at work tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-african-beans/333427/5 "2005-11-30T23:29:29Z")
Yes, these beans may be “magic fruit”, but the more you eat them… ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2005, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sweet-african-beans/333427/6 "2005-12-01T02:25:27Z")
Don’t know about “miracle berries,” but there is a plant known as the “serendipity berry” which contains a compound known as “Monellin” which is hundreds if not thousands of times sweeter that sugar. it belongs to a class of compounds known as "taste-modifying proteins: [Here’s a list of some additional proteins and where they come from](http://www.expasy.org/cgi-bin/get-entries?KW=Taste-modifying%20protein). While not quite up to the exacting scientific rigor of _The Guardian_, it will hopefully suffice. > [@](#): > > Protein that function as a natural sweetener or flavor enhancer. TMPs are found in the fruit or seed of several plants and show no primary sequence similarity. TMPs interact with taste receptors in a potent and specific manner. TMPs are natural and have been used by some cultures for centuries. West Africans have long used TMPs to improve flavor and suppress bitterness of food and drink.