Why Drinking Coffee From A Green Mug Could Make For A Better Morning Cup

Beyond the occasional souvenir gift, you've probably never given the mug that you drink your coffee from every day a second thought — mostly because, before your morning coffee, you can hardly have a first thought. But, what if it could make that very first sip even better? Much like the art of pairing the right plate with the food you're serving, how good your morning joe tastes doesn't just come down to where the beans grew or whether it's a light roast or dark. As it turns out, it also has a lot to do with your mug. More specifically, what color it is.

Science has long proven that the way food tastes is a multi-sensory experience, involving not just your taste buds but your nose, your ears, and yes, even your eyes. Studies show that your brain associates certain colors with different flavors: Brown and black are typically equated to sweetness, white with saltiness, red with sweetness, and yellow and green with sourness. While bitter and sweet are flavors that are more commonly associated with coffee, sourness is the one that gives coffee its depth.

So, if you drink your coffee from a green mug, it could bring out more of the complex flavor notes and make your coffee taste better. Similarly, if you find the taste of coffee too bitter, you could try drinking it in a red mug to bring out more sweet notes. Or, if by chance you added too much sugar, you could pull out a brown one instead. You never know until you try it.

Everyone likes their coffee a certain way, and even if you might not consider yourself a snob who can enjoy a brew from Blue Bottle Coffee just as much as one from 7-Eleven, your senses can sometimes fool you. As you've now come to know, taste is a multi-sensory experience — involving not just your tongue but your eyes, nose, and ears. So, other than the color of your coffee mug or cup, you can make your coffee taste better by altering what you hear and smell.

Considering its notes of floral, smoke, and nuttiness, coffee already smells incredible on its own. As long as you're not within smelling distance of stinky garbage, the only other sense you should really have to think about is what you're hearing when you drink your coffee — and just like with your soup, a nice, audible slurp can enhance how your coffee tastes. In fact, the louder you slurp the better.

Not only does slurping help aerate your drink, allowing it to spread across all of your taste buds, but it will also encourage your nose to pick up on even more of the aromas. This way you get to taste every element of the coffee in its entirety — and don't worry about looking silly, it's what all of the professional coffee tasters do.