Coffee in a cup, mug or glass alters taste perception – 09/06/2023 – Café na Prensa

There are those who can’t do without a cup and saucer when having a cup of coffee. Others prefer a large mug, to drink the drink in droves. There are also staunch defenders of the American cup, ubiquitous in neighborhood snack bars.

Often the argument for choosing one or another container is merely passionate and does not go beyond personal preferences or aesthetic reasons.

But research has shown that the cup in which coffee is consumed affects a person’s perception of the drink. Depending on the shape and type of cup, the consumer may experience the same coffee as sweeter, more acidic or more aromatic, for example.

The study of different glasses is already extensive in the field of wines and even beers, which are millenary drinks. But in the world of coffee, the literature on the subject is still scarce.

For this reason, Brazilian neuroscientist Fabiana Carvalho, from Unicamp (State University of Campinas), conducted research in which the same coffee, prepared in the same way, was served in three cups of the same materials, colors, textures and heights, but with the same shapes. many different.

More than 200 people participated in the experiment, including amateurs and expert tasters.

The cups were designed by the Norwegian Tim Wendelboe, considered one of the greatest baristas in the world, in partnership with the porcelain manufacturer Figgjo, and were validated by The Coffee Sensorium, a research center on coffee led by Carvalho.

One cup was shaped like a tulip; another had a more open mouth; and the third had a curve in the middle and a wide mouth.

Participants stated that they noticed more notes of sweetness and acidity when they drank coffee from the third cup model, but found it more aromatic when served in the tulip-shaped cup.

In view of this, Wendelboe, owner of one of the most renowned coffee shops in the world, in Oslo, serves his coffees in each of the three types of cups depending on the profile of each coffee, in order to enhance certain sensory notes.

So, when you want to highlight the fruity and citric notes of a certain grain, you use a cup model; for sweeter drinks, another model.

The choice of crockery, however, cannot be seen as a way of trying to mask defects or to increase the quality of the drink, says the researcher.

“If I put bad coffee in a cup, it will still be bad [independentemente do modelo]. I’m going to raise the perception of certain attributes, of certain notes, of the body, of the aroma, sweetness”, explains Carvalho.

AMERICAN CUP AND MUG WITH SENTIMENTAL VALUE

Sensory perception, however, is not the only way in which dishes interfere with the way a person enjoys (or does not enjoy) coffee.

It is possible to analyze the effect at three levels. There is sensory perception, already mentioned, in which the consumer perceives coffee as more bitter, sweet or aromatic, for example.

Another level is the affective or hedonic judgment, which basically consists of liking or not liking, the mere pleasure you feel when using a type of cup.

And the other level is the symbolic perception, that is, what that crockery represents. By design, it can communicate sophistication and elegance, for example. Or it could be a cup that represents tradition and comfort.

That is, it is possible that an American mug or cup does not contribute to a good sensory perception of the drink, as they do not have formats that enhance certain coffee notes, but still give greater pleasure than the most appropriate cups for that type of coffee. , as they may carry certain hedonic or symbolic attributes.

That’s why you can’t idolize or vilify the American cup from the cafeteria, the old cup from grandma’s house or the sophisticated ceramics of Nordic design.

Coffee is not always enjoyed calmly, in a relaxing environment and in a cup with sentimental value. Sometimes, it enters everyday life as a mere accompaniment to the bread on the plate, served in the traditional American glass. Or between one meeting and another, swallowed in a hurry from a paper cup that you don’t even have time to dismantle.

Every moment, a glass. Cup cover, one flavor. Coffee may even be the same, but you will perceive it differently.

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