Is it possible to be allergic to the smell of Coffee?

July 24, 2009 3:20 PM

I have an aversion to coffee but I don't know why. If I'm in the same room with it, can smell it no matter how small a cup, I'm gagging. I have never even had a cup of it. What could be causing this and could this be an allergy?

This may be a waste of a question that might get no responses but I've been wanting to find out for the longest time and thought I would ask here as well.

I was in a cafe yesterday to meet a few people. I wasn't even in there 2 minutes before my stomach started churning. I wanted to gag and couldn't get out fast enough. For as long as I can remember, I've reacted this way with the smell of coffee, no matter how little of it is around me. Nothing else makes me react that way. I don't eat or drink anything coffee related, I don't generally like to go to coffee shops (though I do try sometimes if I have friends of family interested in going) and have never had a cup due to the smell getting to me. I am not pregnant and don't have any known allergies.

I'm not even sure what I'm asking but I'd like to know if this is an allergy, if it's just a really deep unconscious dislike for coffee, how do I find out more about coffee allergies/aversions. Any information/guidance would be helpful.

posted by grablife365 to Food & Drink (18 answers total)

It's not an allergy if you're not having a histamine reaction. The word you're looking for is "intolerance" and yes, you have an intolerance to the smell of coffee. Is it biological? I don't know. You could be having a reaction to the salicylates in coffee.

I do have a friend who has the same reaction to the smell of coffee as you do and she refuses to let her husband brew it at home.
posted by cooker girl at 3:28 PM on July 24, 2009

Coffee has odor from methyl mercaptan, which is the skunk smell that is added to natural gas as a warning. It is also responsible for bad breath and the smell of flatulence. It may be that you are more sensitive to this particular bandwidth of smells.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 3:29 PM on July 24, 2009

Coffee has a tendency to be acidic. Perhaps some of this gets in the air during brewing? I generally can't stand coffee (with two minor exceptions - coffee ice cream and very, very sweet very light iced coffee - neither of which really gives off a smell), but not to your degree. The smell doesn't bother me, but it can sometimes leave a burnt-like smell that hangs in the air.
posted by cmgonzalez at 3:32 PM on July 24, 2009

Possible sub-conscious reaction from a negative incident as a child? For instance, when you smelled coffee you knew your parent was awake and you would get yelled at? It may have been a flag for an unpleasant incident.
posted by 6:1 at 3:39 PM on July 24, 2009

I'd concur with cmgonzales. I don't get to the point of gagging on the smell, but I think it smells godawful bad. It's a really strong reek, to boot.

Honestly, um, I'd guess that you just really don't like coffee, plus gag reflex issues.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:07 PM on July 24, 2009

Response by poster: I thought about it being psychological, but the reason I don't think it is is cause the only incident would be smelling my grandmother's burnt coffee once. Which would make sense cause she could be mean but I had the same reactions to coffee before that.

floam, I wouldn't be able to be in the room with it very long. I've tried sitting for a while around it (my family all drinks coffee, boss at work brews it right before I get there) and it does nothing but make me really want to throw up. I can't even get coffee flavored stuff (even a hint) into my mouth. I just try to avoid it all as much as possible.

cooler girl, I couldn't think of another word to use for allergy but I think intolerance would be it definitely. I also don't like it brewed when I'm home. Have to have warnings and what not.

jenfullmoon, I don't all like it but I'm just wondering if its something more that I could try fix or lessen since my stomach completely turns when I'm in the room with it every time.
posted by grablife365 at 4:47 PM on July 24, 2009

The only countercharm I could think of would be to get a stronger smell into your olfactory area when coffee is around. Peppermint would be the ultimate weapon there, gum or hard candy or whatever you are fond of... menthol is quite strong and would fill your mouth and nose as you chew, hopefully forming a barrier to the coffee.
posted by Billegible at 4:54 PM on July 24, 2009

Hold your nose so you can't smell, and drink some. The flavour isn't the same as the smell, you might learn more about your reaction by how you react to drinking some.

And (wild theorizing) perhaps if your brain/body had a palatable foodstuff to associate with the smell, the smell wouldn't be as nauseating?
posted by -harlequin- at 4:54 PM on July 24, 2009

I don't all like it but I'm just wondering if its something more that I could try fix or lessen since my stomach completely turns when I'm in the room with it every time.

You could make sure to have a handkerchief and something that smells pleasant to you with you. If you put some cologne or mint scent (Binaca-type) or menthol into a handkerchief and hold it to your nose as if your nose is running, that might cut the coffee smell enough for you to get away without the gagging.
posted by xingcat at 5:10 PM on July 24, 2009

It doesn't sound like allergies: no runny nose, no swelling, no headaches, no sneezing. Clearly you don't like it and it may be physical but gagging isn't a normal histamine reaction. If you want though you could go to a doctor and get tested. You could also try taking an antihistamine and see if it makes you tolerate coffee.
posted by chairface at 5:17 PM on July 24, 2009

Best answer: Are you a supertaster? Supertasters can be incredibly sensitive to particular smells and flavors, and coffee tends to be one of the ones that we are sensitive to and often seek to avoid. You might check if any of the other common triggers on that wikipedia page are thins you avoid (I have read most of the primary articles cited there, also; they are cool research)
posted by whatzit at 7:46 PM on July 24, 2009

Frankly, the smell of coffee reminds me of the dentist's office. Bad times.
posted by pwnguin at 8:47 PM on July 24, 2009

I'm the same way about most cheeses; that section of the grocery store smells like vomit to me.

I would chalk it up to being coffee intolerant.
posted by brujita at 11:11 PM on July 24, 2009

I have a similiar aversion to the smell. There's an entire floor of my local book shop that I can't even walk through, because the smell from their coffee shop is so intense. The smell makes me feel genuinely nauseous. In my case it's definitely not an allergy. I can remember really disliking the smell from quite an early age; the smell for me is a nasty acrid reek, akin in its unpleasantness to burning tyres (which I actually mind less).
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 11:53 PM on July 24, 2009

I hate the aroma of coffee. I don't like to walk by coffee shops and if I can help it, I don't walk down the aisle the coffee is in at the grocery store - especially if they have one of those bag-your-own dispensers. I just think it smells awful.
posted by IndigoRain at 1:03 AM on July 25, 2009

Chiming in here with no answer but an affirmation: I've had 3 kids and the way I found out I was pregnant each time was that the smell of coffee suddenly made me queasy and nauseous. I never had morning sickness, food cravings or anything, but the smell of joe made me gaggy.
posted by dzaz at 3:33 AM on July 25, 2009

Maybe its cheap coffee smell that you dont like? The brand of coffee that i like is much better smelling then the cheap dd or starbucks coffees.
posted by majortom1981 at 8:45 AM on July 25, 2009

Response by poster: Thank you all for the answers.

I do think I'll be carrying more mints with me. Friends prefer coffee shops for some reason so I'll test it out. I usually just leave if I can. Cheap coffee and expensive coffee still get me going and any of it going into my mouth didn't work at all. Didn't even swallow it. I don't know how to explain it but I still want to gag. I don't drink so I don't know if being drunk would do anything for me. But what a way to research! I'm definitely not pregnant but that also kept coming up on google. If it gets worse when I am, I wont know what to do with myself.

whatzit, wow. I never knew that existed and so far its dead on. I looked at my tongue and it looks like ones I've seen but I haven't tried the dye test (no dye) or a PROP test so I'll wait for those before I think I've finally found the answer. I don't have as strong a reaction to most foods but that would explain so much since coffee is not the only food item I avoid.
posted by grablife365 at 7:18 PM on July 25, 2009