Ah, yes, if it’s a day ending in “y”, the odds are you’ll find me at St. Elmo’s, my favorite coffee place. Where I have my own mug that is constantly being refilled. And, the aromas- they are just glorious. (And, those few tourists, who break the rules and use a cell phone, get attacked for creating halfalogue terror.”)
St. Elmos on the corner of Del Ray and Mount Vernon (Alexandria)
My coffee mugs (I have two- one for the days I’m in my car [where the mug reposes in the drink tray until I enter St. Elmo’s (or sometimes, sshh, Dunkin Donuts)] and one for those days I’m riding my bike (this mug takes up residence in my bright orange knapsack]). At home, my mugs all match my (meat and dairy) sets of dishes- except for three strays (two U of M cups and one presented to me when I presided over the non-profit American Association for Small Research Companies (AASRC)).
When I was younger, my grandmother used glass dishes. These pure glass dishes meant that they could be used for dairy or for meat (but never at the same time). That’s a vagary of the rules of kashrut- keeping kosher. And, back then (I was under 10 when she died- and my first cups of coffee were drank when I was at Arlee Cleaners and Laundry (when I was already 14)- I only drank tea or pop.
It seems that is a critical issue. Drinking coffee from a clear cup is not the best way to enjoy one’s coffee.
Drs. George H Van Doorn, Dianne Wuillemin, (both from Federation University of Asutratlia) and Charles Spence (Oxford Unversity, England) just published the results of their new study in the Flavor Journal. The title tells all: Does the colour of the mug influence the taste of the coffee?
The researchers served 18 participants (in Australia) identically prepared (from the same batch) cups of coffee (actually lattes)- with the only difference beting the color of the coffee mug. The subjects provided their rating of the coffee – it’s aroma, bitterness, sweetness, quality, and it’s fitness for use.
There were three choices for the mug color- white, blue, and clear. Those drinking from the white mug averred the coffee was intense (or bitter), while those drinking from the clear mug felt the opposite. The blue mug users had “in-between” results.
Different coffee, one that tended to be sweeter, provided different results during the survey. Those employing white mugs felt it was the least sweet, while the blue and clear mugs were “determined” to be of more intense character than the white ones.
Of course, coffee being “brown” already “flavors” the beverage in our minds. Our brains are always characterizing things we see and “letting us know” what to expect. And, brown is more usually associated with bitterness and intense flavors. (Did you ever try to drink a Coke or Pepsi that wasn’t colorized? It’s an interesting experience. Which is also why 7-up marketed itself for decades as the “un-cola”.)
Given that brown shows up more intensely against the white cup than it would against the blue- and the natural color of the coffee would be clearly visible when in clear mugs- these results should not be too surprising. After all, chefs have known forever to serve us lush, red, ripe strawberries on pure white plates- and not those grays or greens, or even black ones. The red color we see is associated in our brain with augmented sweetness and ripeness (red fruits are typically ripe; green ones are typically not). (This hypothesis was scientifically tested by Drs. Piqueras-Fiszman, Alcaide, Roura, and Spence (the same Spence as in this article) and reported two years ago in Food Quality and Presence. They reported strawberry mousse was more flavorful (15%) and intense (10%) when eaten from a white plate versus a black one.)
Hmm. My two coffee mugs are all silver or jet black. Those in my house are all white (inside), except for the U of M cups (which are blue). And, I like my coffee.
Maybe I should buy some new white travel mugs?
