# Why do we humans like carbonation? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 4, 2017, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-humans-like-carbonation/797963 "2017-10-04T16:51:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-humans-like-carbonation/797963/21 "2017-10-05T11:00:28Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > [Here’s a pre-configured set up like mine.](https://www.kegoutlet.com/sp202-soda-carbonating-kit-5-lb-co2-tank.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwjdLOBRCkARIsAFj5-GDe21kojSC4bQpax23bh9FoOvv8UOUEA8nRevsrvTqZT-We_2aj93MaAjuaEALw_wcB) > > You might be able to buy the parts cheaper. Almost certainly your local home brew supply store will have all this if you don’t want to mail order. The cost upfront is not significant, but the refills on that 5 pound bottle will only run in the neighborhood of 10 bucks. And that should get you 175 to 200 fizzed 2L bottles. > > I recommend the metal caps over the plastic. The plastic ones can be hard to attach and detach from the filler in my experience. I got tired of buying sodastream’s proprietary threaded CO2 bottles, so I bought an adapter and use paintball CO2 bottles. If I ever buy/make a kegerator for beer, I’ll probably step up to a system like yours. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-humans-like-carbonation/797963/22 "2017-10-05T11:45:10Z")
I always hated fizz as a child. I was infamous at school actually as ‘that kid who asks for milk at parties’. I got over it later. So I wonder if fizz is, like beer (but less so) one of those acquired tastes that society guides you into - and animals, lacking peer group pressure, miss out on. ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-humans-like-carbonation/797963/23 "2017-10-05T13:04:16Z")
Maybe because it adds a little more character to the beverage, a ‘mouth feel’ that is desirable in comparison to drinking something flat. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-humans-like-carbonation/797963/24 "2017-10-05T14:17:32Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > The cost upfront is **not significant** , but the refills on that 5 pound bottle will only run in the neighborhood of 10 bucks. :smack: the cost is not _insignificant_… ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-humans-like-carbonation/797963/25 "2017-10-05T14:24:13Z")
This thread made me curious about something. We have “nitro beers” like canned Guinness that are infused with nitrogen instead of CO2 (originally intended to simulate a hand pulled pint). Smaller bubbles, “creamier” mouthfeel, etc. Can you have “nitro” sodas? Apparently so. There’s a company out there that sells a gadget to nitrogenate beers: > **[NitroBrew - Nitro System for Beer, Coffee or Any Beverage](https://nitrobrew.com/)** > > NitroBrew makes any drink (beer, coffee, tea) smooth and creamy to taste! Make nitro coldbrew/nitrobeer from the comfort of your home or at your bar or cafe You’ll note that they also say that you can use it on other beverages as well. I suppose the appeal of a fizzy nitrogenated drink is similar to carbonated, although they have less “bite” (no carbonic acid, which I suppose may allow you to enjoy fizzy beverages if you can’t tolerate the acidic content in sodas). Now I wonder how your dog would like nitrogenated stuff. Or your parrot. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-humans-like-carbonation/797963/26 "2017-10-05T15:33:10Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > You’ll note that they also say that you can use it on other beverages as well. Starbucks has been selling nitro coffee for some time now. Haven’t tried it yet, but the taps look like beer taps and are almost always right next to the drink-pickup counter. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-humans-like-carbonation/797963/27 "2017-10-05T16:41:30Z")
I’ve had fruit that has gone bad many times, and something like a cantaloupe tastes/feels like it is carbonated or “fizzy” when it’s gone off. I wonder if this is why animals (especially fruit eaters like **kayaker** ’s bird) are put off by carbonation. They take the crazy mouth feel as a clue that something is not right. ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-humans-like-carbonation/797963/28 "2017-10-05T17:24:59Z")
> [@John\_Bredin](#): > > Starbucks has been selling nitro coffee for some time now. Haven’t tried it yet, but the taps look like beer taps and are almost always right next to the drink-pickup counter. I am pretty sure the Starbucks nitro coffee is not carbonated. I know the nitro coffee sold by the cafe near me is not. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-humans-like-carbonation/797963/29 "2017-10-05T18:13:38Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > I am pretty sure the Starbucks nitro coffee is not carbonated. I know the nitro coffee sold by the cafe near me is not. It’s not carbonated with big soda-style bubbles but finer foam. [“Cascading, velvety crema” as Starbucks puts it.](https://www.starbucks.com/menu/drinks/iced-coffee/nitro-cold-brew) It looks like Guinness, in fact. [Pics.](https://www.google.com/search?q=starbucks+nitro+cold+brew&rlz=1C1FLDB_enUS513US513&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjE8fTeidrWAhUn2IMKHaI6BbgQ_AUICygC&biw=1280&bih=655#imgrc=boftsrRgAAo2XM:) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-humans-like-carbonation/797963/30 "2017-10-05T18:15:55Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > I am pretty sure the Starbucks nitro coffee is not carbonated. Of course, by definition. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-humans-like-carbonation/797963/31 "2017-10-05T21:04:56Z")
What might be fairly interesting is nitroing root beer, cream soda or orange cream soda. One of those nitrobrew kits costs $355 with compressor. I’m not that curious. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2017, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-humans-like-carbonation/797963/32 "2017-10-05T21:32:23Z")
A buddy tried some nitro beer once. He’d bought a can on a whim. He said it didn’t fizz as much and seemed to go flat much faster than carbonated beer. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-humans-like-carbonation/797963/33 "2017-10-06T12:08:50Z")
**DesertRoomie** has a habit of opening cans of soda (mostly Coca Cola) and them not drinking them. When we had horses, one in particular loved it when I’d feed him one of the warm cans. He preferred the flat ones. When he got one that still had some carbonation he’d shake his head and do funny things with his tongue but still drank it down. I never tried a freshly-opened warm can. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2017, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-humans-like-carbonation/797963/34 "2017-10-06T19:51:56Z")
I agree with the pain theory. I like anything so carbonated it hurts. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-humans-like-carbonation/797963/35 "2017-10-07T01:18:10Z")
Burping after drinking a lot of plain seltzer is one of life’s greatest pleasures. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2017, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-humans-like-carbonation/797963/36 "2017-10-08T00:21:28Z")
Carbonation not only changes the mouth feel. It also changes the flavor. Carbon dioxide dissolved in water forms carbonic acid, which gives a somewhat tart taste. A soda that’s gone flat tastes “blah” because it’s not as acidic. As for it being unnatural, so what? People do many things that aren’t natural. Is it natural to cook our food? Is it natural to roast the seeds of an African plant, then grind them up and soak them in hot water to make a drink? Is it natural to use heat to extract the alcohol from fermented grain? ---
**Author:** ![TheTuss](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@TheTuss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTuss)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2017, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-humans-like-carbonation/797963/37 "2017-10-08T06:40:50Z")
Humans like carbonation because dissolving CO2 in water produces carbonic acid, and there are taste receptors on the human tongue that respond specifically to carbonic acid. The solubility of a gas in a liquid increases as the temperature of the liquid decreases. Significant mixing of gas and liquid must also occur for the gas to dissolve. In primitive humans, the safest source of water was cold running water because it is less favorable for growth of microorganisms. Out in nature, cold running water contains the most CO2 and thus carbonic acid. So the human taste receptors that make carbonated water taste good helped survival, so we still have them today. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-we-humans-like-carbonation/797963.md?page=1)