Why Tea and Coffee Tastes Better The Way You Make It.

Most of us are very specific about the way we take our tea or coffee. It must be a particular colour with just the right amount of milk and exactly the right temperature. It can even seems to taste better from a certain cup. You can even buy a chart to make sure that if anybody makes you a drink it is exactly the right colour.

Dr Tom Stafford is a psychologist from Sheffield University and co-author of ‘Mind Hacks – Tips and Tricks for Using Your Brain’ (see www.mindhacks.com). He has researched human cognitive behaviour and believes that he knows why we are so particular about caffeinated drinks.

As caffeine is a drug it turns us into unwitting addicts as those who have tried to give up coffee will know. When we are addicted to a substance it has a lot of power over the way we behave:

“Drinking tea and coffee is very ritualistic and people become very addictive to the way they want their brew made. Caffeine is very much a drug of reward and like any addict, people develop passions on how the drug is delivered. Where ever there is drug use then rituals will always develop, the long association with the delivery of a morning cup of coffee or tea people genuinely think it tastes better out of a particular cup. It might be irrational or arbitrary but it’s absolutely true. Your daily brew tastes better from your favourite mug.”

coffee mug