The taste of a drink may really be related to different straws
Have you noticed that some milk tea shops have suddenly started to provide a very thin straw, calling it a "three-pin tube".
According to the merchants, this kind of straw allows consumers to taste the fragrance of tea. If you look at it online, there are many discussions about the "three-pin tube". Some say that it is really hard to drink with such a small straw. Some people say that the taste of the beverages drunk with the "three-pin tube" seems to be really different from that with ordinary straws.
In fact, a few years ago, the straws for drinking beverages had already undergone a big change. The "Opinions on Further Strengthening the Control of Plastic Pollution" issued in early 2020 stipulates that the catering industry is prohibited from using non-degradable disposable plastic straws. Therefore, for a period of time, milk tea shops have switched to paper straws.
However, what followed was the users' complaints about paper straws. Paper straws are not only easy to be soaked, but also easy to bring in a strange "paper taste", and you can't bite the straws! Later, merchants switched to degradable plastic straws, such as the common PLA and PBS straws. Some businesses simply choose not to provide straws, allowing users to drink directly from the opening of the cup lid.
However, the taste of a drink may really be related to different straws.
Taste, smell, temperature, etc. will affect the perception of food
Our experience of taste is not just as simple as the taste buds. For example, when you pinch your nose to eat, you will feel that the food has changed. This is because of the retronasal olfaction, that is, the smell can be transmitted from the mouth to the brain through the retronasal pathway.
At the same time, temperature will also affect our perception of taste. This is because an ion channel in our taste buds is highly sensitive to temperature, which makes us feel that melted ice cream will be sweeter, hot ham will be more delicious, etc.
When we taste food, information about taste and smell is integrated into the brain, and then there is a rich taste. Therefore, when we drink a beverage, the aroma inhaled into the mouth and the taste perceived by the taste buds synthesize a more clear and complex taste.
A study in 2015 came up with an interesting conclusion: when you stuff food into your mouth while panting, it actually interferes with the normal airflow pattern, and some "aroma" (volatile organic compounds) will have difficulty in playing a role in your retronasal olfaction, and you may feel that the food will become unpalatable. Therefore, if you want to have a delicious meal and get the sensory experience that food brings you, it is best to eat slowly and breathe evenly.
A survey found that the lunch time in some middle schools is very tight, resulting in children only having 15 minutes to eat at noon, which results in them throwing away more food and having worse health habits.
When using a straw, the drink will stay on the taste buds longer
These factors cause the straw to affect the taste of the drink. When we take a big sip of a drink from the bottle mouth, the air often does not circulate, and some volatile organic compounds may have difficulty reaching the retronasal olfaction. When using a straw, we can drink relatively less of the drink in one gulp, the drink will stay on your taste buds longer, and it will also release more volatile organic compounds.
Even in this process, your mouth will heat the beverage, further changing the taste.
During coffee "cup testing" (the process of evaluating the texture, flavor, acidity and sweetness of coffee), we often see coffee experts "slurping" a mouthful of coffee. One purpose is to allow the coffee to reach the taste receptors in the mouth as much as possible, and the other purpose is to allow more air to enter the coffee and feel the flavor through the retronasal sense of smell.
Compared to ordinary thick straws, "three-flavor straws" are thinner, and can suck up less beverages and inhale more air. The "aroma" may be easier to feel. If you are not afraid of trouble, you may really be able to taste different flavors.
However, this thin straw also has a double-mouthed one, which is usually given as a gift when buying hot coffee. It is called a hot drink straw. It can make the flow rate of the beverage slower and prevent burns to the throat and mouth. A survey found that some people tend to drink coffee with thin straws because they can experience flavors, roasted flavors, etc. better than thick straws. However, some people also think that this kind of straw sucks too slowly, so it is better to use it as a stirring stick.
Different straws affect our mood when drinking beverages
In addition, different straws will also affect our mood when drinking beverages. Paper straws that are easy to rot are really inconvenient. Some people even give up drinking milk tea because they are difficult to use.
A survey asked participants to drink iced black tea with straws of different materials, including plastic, paper, stainless steel, silicone and copper straws. The results showed that people felt that the flavor, taste and acidity brought by straws of different materials were not quite the same. For iced black tea, some female consumers felt that it was more delicious to drink with stainless steel and copper straws.
The researchers mentioned that consumer accessories such as spoons, forks and straws will affect mood from the feel and taste, and then affect the sensory perception and acceptance of food. Another study also found that among the cups for buying beverages (aluminum cans, glass cups, plastic cups and glass bottles), people have the lowest taste expectations and willingness to pay for aluminum canned beverages.
But then again, although there are so many straws to choose from on the market, even if they are degradable plastics, they cannot be quickly degraded by throwing them into the soil. Their recycling and degradation are now facing problems such as difficulty in classification and lack of processing equipment. They are still a difficult-to-process plastic waste.
If you want to really solve the problem of plastic pollution, reducing their use is the most feasible way. For example, using reusable cups and (glass, metal, silicone) straws is more economical and has a longer service life. This may be the best solution to the problem.
(The article comes from the WeChat public account Bring Science Home)