Tea tastes better out a certain mug

[GodblessHookyStreet]

I have numerous lovely mugs but for some reason my tea tastes the best out of a particular mug.

No other mug comes close to how good my tea tastes from the one and for the life of me I can not understand why!

Can anyone give a scientific answer or is it just because.

Mind blown!!!!!!!!

Same. And I get irrationally annoyed if people PIL use my mugs for incorrect beverages. They also like to keep their morning tea mug out on the side to reuse for their coffee “to save on washing up” so I have to quickly shove it in the dishwasher when they’re not looking.

1. that’s a tea mug not a coffee mug
2. I don’t want dirty mugs cluttering up the worktop for hours on end

(I only do this when they’re staying with me! They can do what they like in their own home 😆)

I had a favourite tea mug and other people would sometimes use it, so I bought 5 more the same. Only one of the others is actually as good as the original, the others feel slightly different and ‘wrong’. Of course nobody else can tell the difference so if anyone else makes me a drink it’s often in the wrong one. My family take the piss out of me almost daily for it.

It tickles we that we are all so weirdly specific about what we like. I am exactly the same. There are mugs in my cupboard that I would never ever use, I would go without rather than do so. And don't get me started on how the tea has to be made...

Nope. Bone china is exceptionally smooth therefore the natural tannins in tea don't stick to it. This means all the flavour stays in the tea. Other materials are bumpy and porous so tannins do stick, which means more of the flavour stays in the cup.

There has been extensive psychological research about things tasting better if they positively engage our other senses first, eg sight, smell. The crockery we use is part of our impression of the whole.

Unless the container inter-acts with the tea, I don't see how it can affect the tea's chemical composition and hence it's taste.

My mugs get used in a very specific order of favouriteness. I will only disconsolately use my least favourite if the dishwasher is full and needs a run.

@Ifailed Unless the container inter-acts with the tea, I don't see how it can affect the tea's chemical composition and hence it's taste.

My first paragraph explains how the container interacts with the tea.

White bone china mug!

I had the perfect sized bone China cup, that made the most perfect cup of tea, and was also the perfect size for those sachets of cappuccinos and lattes. Then I dropped it on my wooden floor and it smashed. Gutted!! I superglued it back together cos even though I can no longer drink out of it, it is my favourite cup.