Most would be familiar with a link between writers and coffee shops, but there could be some science behind this rather than it being just a lofty concept.

A study by the University of Chicago found that those subjected to a moderately noisy environment worked better on creative tasks than in very loud or very quiet environments.

Coffitivity.com allows you to tap into that hidden creativity without having to worry about buying a cup of coffee every time the waiter gives you that look that means you’ve overstayed your welcome.

The website says it provides “enough noise to work” and plays a looped audio track of the ambiance of a coffee shop

Loud noises, quantified as those at 85dB such as vacuum cleaner, needless to say hindered how well people worked, but a similar effect was found at the opposite end of spectrum in a quiet room of 50dB.

Something in the middle at around 70dB was found to the most conducive to thinking up original or innovative ideas, roughly matching the level of sound in a busy coffee shop.

“For individuals looking for creative solutions to daily problems” the study says “such as planning a dinner menu based on limited supplies or generating interesting research topics to study, our findings imply that instead of burying oneself in a quiet room trying to figure out a solution, walking out of one’s comfort zone and getting into a relatively noisy environment (such as a café) may trigger the brain to think abstractly, and thus generate creative ideas.”