Image via iStock. 

The next time you’re sitting at a cafe with your friends, you might want to pay more attention to what coffee they order. Because, according to new research, your beverage of choice can say a lot about your personality type. Specifically whether or not you might be a psychopath. Oh, fabulous.

According to researchers from Innsbruck University in Austria,  having a fondness for bitter food and beverages could mean that you have psychopathic tendencies.

The researchers, whose work was published in the journal Appetite, found that people who have a penchant for bitter foods and drinks, like black coffee, were more likely to display  ‘machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism and everyday sadism’ personality traits. (Post continues after gallery.)

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In their survey, 1000 people were asked about their preferences for either sweet, salty, sour, or bitter foods.  They were asked to rate the foods, including black coffee, bacon, radishes, celery, and tonic water.

The participants then completed separate personality questionnaires about their aggression levels, personality traits as well as an assessment of sadistic tendencies.

It’s unclear why people with these traits were associated with bitter-tasting items, but researchers have suggested that it may be because eating bitter foods can be a thrill.

As they explain in their findings, “survival depends on the consumption of sweet and the rejection of bitter substances, because sweet foods typically feature high caloric density whereas bitterness is often a marker for toxins”, so eating bitter food can actually induce fear.

On second thought, I'll have mine with milk, please. (Image via iStock.)

The researchers also said that the degree to which a person was kind, sympathetic and cooperative a person was negatively correlated with their bitter taste preferences.

So there you have it. I don't know about you, but I will be thinking twice before ordering a long black, short black or anything without sugar...

What do you think of the findings? Do they reflect your coffee of choice?