Chocolate already hits most of the pleasure centers in your brain. A British neuroscientist figured out how to hit the rest.
Dr. Natalie Hyacinth, a composer and sensory researcher at the University of Bristol, designed a 90-second track called Sweetest Melody—a soft, piano-heavy song calibrated to 78 BPM, the same speed a piece of Galaxy chocolate takes to melt. The idea: if music can influence how we feel, maybe it can affect how we taste, too.
It’s not some gimmicky marketing ploy. Hyacinth studies a phenomenon called “multisensory integration,” where the brain combines sound, taste, and emotion into a unified experience. Her research found that mellow, major-key music can make sweets taste sweeter, smoother, and more luxurious. Pair that with the right mouthfeel, and the effect becomes measurable.
This Song Was Designed by Scientists to Make Chocolate Taste Amazing
She layered in pianos for sweetness, harp for smoothness, and strings to pull it all together. The track is available to stream on YouTube and Spotify, in case you want to test the science during your next snack break.
This isn’t the first time scientists have tried to fine-tune your mood through your ears. Marconi Union’s ambient track Weightless has been shown to lower anxiety by up to 65 percent, syncing heart rates to its 50–60 BPM tempo. Neuroscientist Friederike Fabritius swears by Bach’s Goldberg Variations for instant focus. Additionally, 60 percent of Gen Z students report that they study more effectively with music playing in the background.
However, Sweetest Melody doesn’t aim to alleviate your anxiety or increase your productivity. It wants you to savor dessert. Romi Mackiewicz, Galaxy’s brand director, said the goal is to turn chocolate into “a symphony for the senses.” It’s marketing, sure. But it’s also kind of a flex—weaponizing brain science to make you enjoy something you already enjoy, but harder.
A poll of 2,000 Brits found that 37 percent rely on sweet treats for their “me time,” and over half already use music to decompress. This track combines the two. It’s pleasure layered on pleasure—a serotonin sandwich.
Whether or not your brain actually melts when the chocolate does, the concept is at least more exciting than another rebrand of “mindful eating.” Think of it as musical MSG for your taste buds.
Worst-case scenario? You ate chocolate and listened to a lovely song. Not a bad experiment.
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