Coffee Drinkers! Taste Different if Using a Cup as Opposed to a Styrofoam Cup??
By artistry
@artistry (4151)
United States
February 13, 2010 12:30am CST
When drinking your coffee, do you notice any difference in the taste, if you use a styrofoam cup as opposed to a regular cup? If you do notice a difference, do you think that the styrofoam may be reacting to the hot coffee, and changing the taste of it? Share your thoughts on the possibility.
3 responses
@artistry (4151)
• United States
13 Feb 10
...Hi frtwome, I think that you are correct, the high heat of the coffee would have to do something to a cup made of such material. I don't know how much diffence there is in taste, but for sure, in my opinion, there would be a breakdown in the cup when the heat of the coffee hits the cup. As long as you don't use the styrofoam cups on a constant basis, I don't see that there would be any problem. Thanks so much for your thoughts. Take care.
@dianmelydia (2269)
• Indonesia
13 Feb 10
I usually drink such drinks from my common coffee cup. I think it's much better and healthy than using styrofoam cup for drink hot or warm drinks. And also, it's not easy to hold the styrofoam cup when hot coffee is filled inside because it's hot. I think the material itself is not really a neutral material so it can affecting the taste of the coffee. Have a nice day and happy mylotting.
@artistry (4151)
• United States
13 Feb 10
...Hi dianmelydia, That is good that you use a regular cup. There are no reports that I have seen about the effects of hot substances such as coffee, on the styrofoam material, but you would have to think there would be some sort of breakdown on the material from the heat. I have seen the cups melt, or get a hole in them, when too much heat is applied in a microwave. Thank you very much for your reply. Take care.
@veejay19 (3589)
• India
13 Feb 10
To date i haven`t drunk either coffee or tea in a styrofoam cup because the practice is not in use in my country.It is quite possible that some chemical reaction maybe taking place when the hot coffee comes in contact with the cup which probably may be releasing some chemicals which change the taste of tea.I will give you an example.Traditionally in our country and especially in the rural areas spices are ground in a wooden mortar using a wooden pestle.The fragrance released by the spices mixes with the wood and creates an entirely different smell which adds to the food when cooked. Now if the spices are ground using a modern electrically run mixer then it gives a sort of burnt out smell and taste which is not as pleasant as the former.
In the same way when coffee is drunk from a ceramic cup the taste is different and much more pleasant than when sipped from a styrofoam cup.The reason is that ceramics can withstand very high temperatures and so do not react when hot coffee is poured into them therefore the taste of the original coffee remains unchanged.
1 person likes this
@artistry (4151)
• United States
13 Feb 10
....Hi veejay, What you have done is to give us a very good academic explanation of the changes that could take place with the coffee in such a cup. I think that you are absolutely correct in your assessment. We should probabaly limit our use of styrofoam cups, because there might just be a chemical breakdown between the hot coffee and the material that the cup is made of. I think that as long as you don't use the cups constantly as I mentioned before, it should be fine. Thank you so much for such a great reponse to the question. Take good care.
