Does the cup you use affect the taste?

Systemic

At my son’s house in Manchester, coffee I brew via pour over tastes different to what I get in my home. So, by way of experiment, I took over my grinder and Osmio and used the same brew method - dose and time paraments and yet there is still a difference in the coffee I brew in my home compared to his. The only difference are the cups used. At my son’s the only choice are thick walled mugs where, at home, I use thin walled China porcelain.

Could the cups actually make a difference? I would have thought that water through the Osmio at my place and my son’s wouldn’t be any different. I might try using Volvic in both places as another experiment.

LMSC

Systemic Could the cups actually make a difference?

Wow! Never heard that before. I assume the cups were warmer. Did you measure the EY by any chance?

Systemic

I measured EY and variables like dose, number of pours and total extraction time were very similar. Coffee produced is enjoyable but not hitting the tasting notes and getting the taste of coconut which is a new one for me. Beans used are from a subscription and freshly roasted. Also let the coffee cool to around 55c too.

dfk41

Can you also do the TDS at both houses through the Osmio I know folks say the Osmio strips everything out, but, does it?

MWJB

dfk41 No, it doesn’t.

MWJB

I’m certain cups make a difference.

My coffee cups are straight walled, 7oz cups, vitrified, stackable…like you see in conference centres/weddings/hotels…whenever I drink from more flared/rounded/thicker walled cups the coffee seems less balanced more sour?

Similar with espresso. Tradition, thick walled, rounded, egg bottomed cups don’t seem to make the coffee as sweet/balanced as some small, narrow ceramic beaker style cups a friend brought me back from holiday.

Just the other day, I was searching to find some taller, narrower cups to try against the 7oz stackables.

I gave up drinking coffee out of anything made of glass years ago.

Systemic

MWJB I’m certain cups make a difference.

Thanks Mark - I was beginning to think I was losing it. Question is, why? (not me losing it😀)

Systemic

That’s what I am wondering David. So will get some Volvic and try this too.

MWJB

Systemic Maybe we both are/have! 😀

I don’t know, maybe the interface with the cup material, compare to a straw?…I did this a few years ago with steel straws & drinking coffee out of a port pipe (Hmmm, the evidence for losing it seems to be piling up.)

The effect of volatile aromatics and the openness/surface area of the liquid?

Thickness of the wall limiting the depth of liquid sipped?

…if I were to theorise.

Dusk

I don’t know about taste specifically but I find it a much more enjoyable experience to drink out of a nice cup, and I guess things will taste better when you’re enjoying yourself. I particularly hate getting a latte in a cafe out of one of those tall, straight sided glass cups. I prefer a nice rounded ceramic mug all day long.

Cuprajake

Systemic

Been using the same porcelain China mugs - very thin walled - think they came from Denby pottery. Mrs Systemic prefers her pour over in a Denby ceramic mug, Never occurred to me to try the coffee out of her cup and mine at same time. I went over to thin walled porcelain after a recommendation by well known roastery video years back and no, it wasn’t Steve Leighton.

Systemic

Appreciate the impact of colour, texture appearance etc of the drinking vessel impacting on the perception but I don’t think that’s the case for me at the moment. Been spending a lot of time at my son’s and initially was using a Niche with Brita Filter water the results of which were, for me, OK but not what I was used to with my setup at home. So I was expecting big things when I hoiked the EKs over plus the Osmio. Taking some porcelain cups over tomorrow to see what, if any, difference these make.

John_Yossarian

Systemic You have raised a very logical question and the observed difference sounds very normal. The thickness and the material the cups are made of significantly affect the way heat is distributed and released. This in turn would affect the coffee cooling, whence it is likely the coffee in the cup to develop different flavours as a result. The very good thing is that you sense even these relatively small changes. That says a lot about your palate👍

LMSC

Interesting the thickness of the cup makes a difference to the coffee taste. Very bizzare.

IIRC, I think JH in one of his videos or one of the influencers suggested using a pre-heated or a warmed up (using hot water) to avoid sourness kicking in.

Ernie1

Did you use a temp controlled kettle?

I see you tasted at the same temp but I’d guess two different kettles would also produce different results.

MediumRoastSteam

Isn’t this the same principle that a wine decanted to a nice, thin walled fancy crystal glass taste better than the exact same wine poured into an el cheapo thick box standard everyday use glass?

If everything is the same apart from the vessel, I’m inclined to think the perception of what feels “nice” to us will always taste er…. Nicer. 😉 - so the vessel which we touch our lips with is part of the whole sensorial experience.

MWJB

MediumRoastSteam This isn’t quite what I’m saying (though others might be), the cups that I prefer aren’t fancy, they’re basic catering supplies type things. Maybe because they’re what I’m most used to? But not because of any aesthetic benefit (whilst not ruling out a nicer, preferable cup).

MediumRoastSteam

MWJB - it was a general thread comment rather than targeted to a specific reply. 👍

Inspector

Regarding to Osmio water, we live in Cheshire and when our friends from Kent comes to visit us they say our water tastes better than their Osmio water.

Systemic

Inspector Regarding to Osmio water, we live in Cheshire and when our friends from Kent comes to visit us they say our water tastes better than their Osmio water.

Live in Lancashire currently, water is soft to moderately soft. Manchester is medium to moderately hard. In your example, Cheshire is medium to moderately hard and Kent hard to very hard.

Reverse osmosis takes out 95-99% calcium carbonate so I am wondering if this is the factor. Hopefully, other forum members and @DavecUK will offer some pearls of wisdom.

JHCCoffee

I enjoy fine wine and use glasses that are shaped for the wine style. Glasses that are fairly tall and narrower in diameter at the top for Bordeaux and glasses that are somewhat less tall and quite bell shaped for Burgundy. We call them Bordeaux and Burgundy glasses, respectively. And we all know what Champagne glasses look like. All are quite thin glass, especially at the lip. I dislike thick lipped wine glasses. There is a long proven reason for their shapes.

I am not at all surprised that the cup shape and wall thickness impacts taste.