Taste of Hot Chocolate Depends on Cup Color: Study

In a latest study conducted by researchers from the Polytechnic University of Valencia and the University of Oxford, it has been suggested that hot chocolate tastes better when served in orange and cream cups.  This study supports the theory that our perception of taste is influenced by colors the eyes perceive.

The study that was conducted by Betina Piqueras-Fiszman, researcher at the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain) along with her colleague Charles Spence from the University of Oxford (UK), highlights the fact that an orange or cream cup enhances the flavor of the hot chocolate when compared to white or red cups.

In order to prove the hypothesis, the study was conducted on 57 participants who were asked to evaluate the taste of hot chocolate that was served in four different color cups of the same size i.e., cream, orange, white and red.

"The color of the container where food and drink are served can enhance some attributes like taste and aroma," Piqueras-Fiszman said in a news release.

The participants said the chocolate that was served in orange and cream cups tasted better than the chocolate served in other mugs.

The subjects reported the chocolate tasted sweeter in a cream cup, to which the researchers say the sweetness and the aroma was hardly influenced by the color of the cup.

"There is no fixed rule stating that flavor and aroma are enhanced in a cup of a certain color or shade," Piqueras-Fiszman was quoted as saying in Medical Daily. "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."

This study will help scientists understand how the brain amalgamates the visual information not just from food, but also the container from it which is consumed.

The study was published in the Journal of Sensory Studies.