Hot topic! Does milk tea really taste better if it is bottled in a "three-grade tube"?

Milk tea shops are doing things again. Have you noticed that some milk tea shops have suddenly started providing very thin straws, calling them "third-grade straws."

According to the merchants, this straw allows consumers to taste the aroma of tea. A casual look on the Internet shows that there are many discussions about the "three-quality straw". Some say that it is really hard to drink with such a small straw. Others say that the taste of the beverage drunk with the "three-quality straw" seems to be really different from that with an ordinary straw.

Some people say it tastes good, while others say it is difficult to use. Image source: I took this myself

In fact, a few years ago, the straws we use to drink beverages have undergone a major change. The "Opinions on Further Strengthening Plastic Pollution Control" 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, users complained about paper straws, saying that they are easy to get soaked and have a strange "paper smell", and you can't bite the straws! (You can review the previous article "Paper straws forced me to quit drinking milk tea, who in my family understands!")

Later, businesses replaced them with biodegradable 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.

PLA straws are a common type of "environmentally friendly straws" today. Image source: taken by myself

However, the taste of a drink may really have something to do with different straws .

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 tastes different. This is because of retronasal olfaction , that is, the smell can be transmitted from the mouth to the brain through the retronasal pathway.

At the same time, temperature also affects our perception of taste. This is because an ion channel (TRPM5) in our taste buds is highly sensitive to temperature , making us feel that melted ice cream is sweeter, hot ham is more delicious, etc.

Many ice creams are unbearably sweet once they melt. Image credit: Giphy

When we taste food, information about taste and smell is integrated into the brain to create a rich flavor. 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 , you are actually disrupting the normal airflow pattern, and some "aromas" (volatile organic compounds) are difficult to play a role in your sense of smell behind your nose, and you may feel that the food will not taste good . 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.

If you eat too fast, you may not be able to taste the food. Image source: Giphy

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 .

These factors affect the taste of beverages caused by straws. When we take a big sip of beverage from the bottle, air often does not circulate, and some volatile organic compounds may have difficulty reaching the nose. When using a straw, we can drink relatively less beverage in one gulp, and the beverage will stay on your taste buds longer, and more volatile organic compounds will be released.

Even in this process, your mouth will heat the drink, further changing the taste.

In 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 experience the flavor through retronasal smell.

When cupping coffee, people use the sucking method to taste the coffee. Image source: ndla.no

Compared to ordinary thick straws, "three-flavor straws" are thinner, can suck up less beverage and inhale more air, and the "aroma" may be easier to feel. If you don't mind the trouble, you may really be able to taste the different flavors.

Can you taste the difference? Image source: I took it myself

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, which can make the flow of the beverage slower and prevent burns to the throat and mouth. A survey found that some people prefer to drink coffee with a thin straw because it can better experience the flavor, roasted taste, etc. compared with a thick straw . However, some people also think that this straw is too slow to suck, so it is better to use it as a stirring stick.

Many people think that this straw is actually a stirring stick. Image source: Internet

In addition, different straws can also affect our mood when drinking beverages. Paper straws that easily break 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 using straws made of different materials, including plastic, paper, stainless steel, silicone and copper straws.

The results showed that people felt that straws made of different materials brought different flavors, tastes and acidity. For iced black tea, some female consumers felt that it tasted better when drinking with stainless steel and copper straws.

Researchers mentioned that consumer accessories such as spoons, forks and straws can affect mood through touch and taste, which in turn affects the sensory perception and acceptance of food. Another study also found that among the cups used to buy beverages (aluminum cans, glass cups, plastic cups and glass bottles), people have the lowest taste expectations and willingness to pay for aluminum canned beverages.

This is a filter straw specially used for drinking yerba mate tea. Image source: wiki

But then again, although there are so many straws to choose from on the market, even if they are degradable plastics, they will not degrade quickly if thrown into the soil. Their recycling and degradation now face problems such as difficulty in classification and lack of processing equipment. They are still a difficult type of plastic waste to handle.

If we really want to solve the problem of plastic pollution, the most feasible way is to reduce their use. For example , using reusable cups and (glass, metal, silicone) straws will save money and have a longer lifespan, which may be the best solution to the problem.

It is best to use a reusable straw ~ Image source: wiki

After all, you can’t not drink beverages~

References

[1] Pramudya, Ragita C., Asmita Singh, and Han-Seok Seo. "A sip of joy: Straw materials can influence emotional responses to, and sensory attributes of cold tea." Food Quality and Preference 88 (2021): 104090.

[2] Lefebvre, Sarah, and Marissa Orlowski. "Can, cup, or bottle? The influence of beverage vessel on taste and willingness to pay." International journal of hospitality management 76 (2019): 194-205.

[3] Ni, Rui, et al. "Optimal directional volatile transport in retronasal olfaction." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112.47 (2015): 14700-14704.

[4]https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/09/24/439487395/kids-who-are-time-crunched-at-school-lunch-toss-more-and-eat-less

[5]https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-does-food-taste-so-delicious/

[6]https://www.thedailybeast.com/plastic-straws-sucked-for-our-taste-buds

[7]https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/why-do-drinks-taste-better-with-a-straw/

[8]https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2013/sep/17/serving-temperature-affects-taste-food

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Source: Bringing Science Home (id: steamforkids)

Author｜Editor of Skin Magazine

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