Cup Color Changes Taste

Want to improve the taste of your hot chocolate? Scientists have found that the color of the cup you use can make it taste better or worse.

European researchers have found that hot chocolate tastes best in orange- or-cream-colored cups than in white or red ones. “The color of the container where food and drink are served can enhance some attributes like taste and aroma,” says Betina Piqueras-Fiszman, a researcher at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain).

Published in the Journal of Sensory Studies, the study found that the flavor of chocolate served in orange- or cream-colored cups was better for the 57 tasting volunteers.

However, the sweetness (not the flavor of the cocoa) and the aroma were hardly influenced by the color of the cup, despite the participants mentioning that the chocolate was slightly sweeter and more aromatic in a cream-colored cup.

“There is no fixed rule stating that flavor and aroma are enhanced in a cup of a certain color or shade,” says Piqueras-Fiszman. “In reality this varies depending on the type of food, but the truth is that, as this effect occurs, more attention should be paid to the color of the container as it has more potential than one could imagine.”