Science reveals why champagne doesn’t taste as good when served in a plastic cup.
Have you ever noticed that that bottle of bubbly loses its sparkle when poured into a plastic cup? Apart from not looking good, plastic cups also affect the taste of champagne.
So, all these years, it’s not been your imagination! We have scientific proof! Apparently, the taste is all in the bubbles. Bubbles stick to the sides of plastic or polystyrene cups before rising to the surface, which changes the taste.
Lead study author Kyle S. Spratt from the Applied Research Laboratories at the University of Texas at Austin told The Independent:
It turns out the bubble formation process on styrofoam is completely different than on glass.
Andrea Sella, professor of inorganic chemistry at University College London, said:
Using plastic glasses, for example, really isn’t so good because the bubbles actually stick quite strongly to the walls of the glass [and so are] bigger before they lift off.
It turns out that more expensive champagne has finer bubbles which totally changes the taste. (As if you needed any more excuses to buy another bottle!?)
So, will you be persuading yourself that you need that more expensive bottle for Christmas? And perhaps some new glass champagne flutes to go with it…
