A sip of joy: Straw materials can influence emotional responses to,and sensory attributes of cold tea

While the use of reusable drinking straws has become more popular in recent years, there have been no previous studies regarding associations of drinking straw materials with perception and liking of beverages. This study was therefore aimed at determining whether and how straw materials could affect sensory perception of and evoke emotional responses to cold tea beverages. One hundred thirty-four participants (70 females and 64 males) consumed unsweetened cold black tea samples using five straws made from one of five materials: plastic, paper, copper, stainless steel, and silicone. They rated the tea samples with respect to attribute intensity and liking, overall hedonic impression, and evoked emotions. Tea samples were found to differ with straw materials in terms of flavor liking, mouthfeel liking, and sourness intensity. Interestingly, significant interactions between straw materials and gender were observed in overall hedonic impression and matching associations of straw materials with cold tea samples. Females liked cold tea samples more when consumed with copper or stainless steel straws than with paper straws, while males exhibited no differences with straw material conditions. A gender effect was also found on cold tea samples consumed with different straw materials, with females more emotionally expressive than males toward certain straw material conditions. In conclusion, this study shows variations in sensory and emotional responses to cold tea samples as a function of drinking straw materials and could help food and beverage professionals select the most appropriate straw materials for best enhancing beverage consumption experience.