You might be well aware that smell plays an important role in how foods or drinks taste.

Imagine swirling your glass of wine and inhaling its aroma before taking a sip…ahh…that feels like Friday…

But this may colour you surprised — did you know that colours could sway your taste buds as well?

Some researchers carried out a study that left our chocolate-loving Science Writer green with envy — they found out that the colours of mugs can influence how hot chocolate tastes!

Colour is more influential than you think.

In what may be the tastiest science experiments ever, 57 participants were served hot chocolate in cups of four different colours: orange, white, red and cream (an orange-tinged colour).

While the beverages were identical in all cups, they decided that those served in orange and cream-coloured cups tasted the best.

Strange, eh? What sort of sorcery is this!

Well, the colour had nothing to do with this odd reaction from the participants. The colours did not alter the hot chocolate physically or chemically. But it was found out that the sippers’ brains perceived a difference based on the visual information presented, and that difference influenced their sense of taste quite dramatically.

The researchers also referenced other similar findings — like the perception that yellow packaging enhances lemon flavour or that blue beverages appear to be better at quenching thirst than red ones.

These results seem to be very relevant to those working in the food and beverage industry as they could now put more thought into the presentation of their plateware or packaging to attract and retain customers. 

So next time you drink from an orange mug, bear in mind that it might be the mug that’s tantalising your tastebuds!