{ "id": "crossmodal-effects", "url": "https://coffearium.org/entries/crossmodal-effects/", "license": "CC-BY-4.0", "title": "Crossmodal effects", "summary": "How one sense changes what another reports – why the colour, shape and feel of a cup, a label, a sound or a smell can shift how sweet, sour or good the same coffee seems, and why cuppers taste blind.", "domain": "science", "kind": "Concept", "stage": "cup", "topics": [ "science" ], "topicSections": {}, "lang": "en", "status": "verified", "reviewer": "Coffearium verification pass", "lastVerified": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z", "updated": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z", "added": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z", "brief": [ "Crossmodal effects: one sense changes what another reports. In tasting studies, the same coffee was rated differently when only the cup or a label changed.8,10,16", "In a 2014 experiment with 36 participants, a café latte was rated less sweet from a white mug than from a blue or a transparent one.8", "In a 2020 study, 81 Q graders rated the aftertaste of one coffee as drier when they drank it from a rough cup rather than a smooth one.10", "The coffee cup studies had 18–457 participants per experiment or study and all share one co-author; no independent replication was found for this entry.8,9,10,11", "The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) requires identical cups for cupping and keeps information about a coffee away from its tasters to avoid bias.1,2" ], "quickFacts": [ { "label": "What it means", "value": "One sense changes the judgement reported by another" }, { "label": "Cues studied in coffee", "value": "Smell, sweetener, cup colour, shape and texture, latte art, labels, sound, lighting" }, { "label": "Typical study size", "value": "18–457 in published coffee studies; one unpublished study 7" }, { "label": "Largest cup effect reported", "value": "Aftertaste dryness, smooth vs rough cup, Q graders (one study)" }, { "label": "Cupping cups (SCA 102-2024)", "value": "Tempered glass or ceramic, 200–350 mL, all identical" }, { "label": "Protection in tasting", "value": "Identical cups, coded samples, information kept separate" } ], "aka": [ "Cross-modal effects", "Crossmodal perception", "Multisensory effects in coffee" ], "linkTerms": [ "crossmodal effect", "cross-modal effect", "crossmodal", "cross-modal", "crossmodal correspondence", "multisensory", "cup colour", "cup texture", "extrinsic cues" ], "related": [ "how-we-taste-coffee", "the-aroma-of-coffee", "body-and-mouthfeel", "flavour-language", "sensory-science-methods", "serving-temperature", "cupping", "cups-and-vessels" ], "contested": [], "corrections": [ { "date": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z", "change": "Espresso study – \"the sweeteners have no smell\" replaced by \"the sweeteners are not volatile\".", "reason": "Verification; source 7 states that the sweeteners were nonvolatile, not that they were odourless." }, { "date": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z", "change": "Unpublished music study reworded as suggested trends; \"several\" unpublished studies corrected to two (lighting, music).", "reason": "Verification; source 15 reports trends from seven participants and labels only these two studies as unpublished." }, { "date": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z", "change": "Effects map – latte art arrow changed to dashed (expectations), cup shape to flavour intensity added as dashed; key moved to the caption only.", "reason": "Verification; the abstract of source 14 describes expectation and willingness-to-pay measures without tasting; source 13 reports expected intensity for short mugs." } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "title": "SCA Standard 102-2024 Coffee Value Assessment: Sample Preparation and Tasting Mechanics", "authors": "Specialty Coffee Association", "year": 2024, "publisher": "Specialty Coffee Association", "url": "https://sca.coffee/s/AW_SCA-102_Sample-Preparation_281024_Secured.pdf", "tier": "A/B", "tierNote": "A for the procedures and definitions the standard specifies (cupping vessels, steps, temperatures); B for explanations.", "quote": "Cupping vessels shall be of tempered glass or ceramic material.", "accessed": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s2", "title": "A System to Assess Coffee Value: Understanding the Specialty Coffee Association’s Coffee Value Assessment (June 2024)", "authors": "Specialty Coffee Association (writing team Fernández-Alduenda, M.; Ionescu, K. E.; Giuliano, P.; Rugolo, J.; Delrue, R.)", "year": 2024, "publisher": "Specialty Coffee Association", "url": "https://static1.squarespace.com/static/584f6bbef5e23149e5522201/t/667182ffdde8a5081afc2d8c/1718715138872/SCA+-+A+System+to+Asssess+Coffee+Value+-+June+2024+(Secured).pdf", "tier": "A/B", "tierNote": "A for the procedures the CVA specifies (separate assessments, concealment of extrinsic information); B for its account of research and its research notes.", "quote": "Extensive research, across the coffee industry as well as outside of it, has shown the impact of extrinsic attributes on both our sensory perception and our impression of quality.", "accessed": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s3", "title": "Sensory Evaluation – Profiling and Preferences", "authors": "Thomas, E.; Puget, S.; Valentin, D.; Songer, P.", "year": 2017, "publisher": "In: Folmer, B. (ed.), The Craft and Science of Coffee, Academic Press, ch. 18, pp. 419–456", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-803520-7.00018-9", "doi": "10.1016/B978-0-12-803520-7.00018-9", "tier": "B", "quote": "Also to minimize tasting bias, samples must be coded with a three-digit code, presented in a random or balanced order, evaluated in repetitions and individually by panelists.", "accessed": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s4", "title": "Multisensory flavor perception", "authors": "Spence, C.", "year": 2015, "publisher": "Cell 161(1), 24–35", "url": "https://pesquisa.bvsalud.org/ses/resource/es/mdl-25815982", "tier": "A", "quote": "The perception of flavor is perhaps the most multisensory of our everyday experiences.", "abstractOnly": true, "accessed": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s5", "title": "Oral referral: On the mislocalization of odours to the mouth", "authors": "Spence, C.", "year": 2016, "publisher": "Food Quality and Preference 50, 117–128", "url": "https://www.neuroscience.ox.ac.uk/publications/607284", "tier": "A", "quote": "Oral referral is central to multisensory flavour perception.", "abstractOnly": true, "accessed": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s6", "title": "Confusing tastes and smells: how odours can influence the perception of sweet and sour tastes", "authors": "Stevenson, R. J.; Prescott, J.; Boakes, R. A.", "year": 1999, "publisher": "Chemical Senses 24(6), 627–635", "url": "https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/confusing-tastes-and-smells-how-odours-can-influence-the-percepti/", "tier": "A", "quote": "Certain odours were found to enhance tasted sweetness while others suppressed it.", "abstractOnly": true, "accessed": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s7", "title": "Taste-Odor Integration in Espresso Coffee", "authors": "Chiralertpong, A.; Acree, T. E.; Barnard, J.; Siebert, K. J.", "year": 2008, "publisher": "Chemosensory Perception 1(2), 147–152", "url": "https://doc.rero.ch/record/321130", "tier": "A", "quote": "The ratings for caramel were considerably increased, again to a similar extent, by both sweeteners.", "abstractOnly": true, "accessed": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s8", "title": "Does the colour of the mug influence the taste of the coffee?", "authors": "Van Doorn, G. H.; Wuillemin, D.; Spence, C.", "year": 2014, "publisher": "Flavour 3, 10", "url": "https://flavourjournal.biomedcentral.com/track/pdf/10.1186/2044-7248-3-10", "doi": "10.1186/2044-7248-3-10", "tier": "A", "quote": "Both experiments demonstrate that the colour of the mug affects people's ratings of a hot beverage.", "accessed": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s9", "title": "The shape of the cup influences aroma, taste, and hedonic judgements of specialty coffee", "authors": "Carvalho, F. M.; Spence, C.", "year": 2018, "publisher": "Food Quality and Preference 68, 315–321", "url": "https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9d682018-0494-4e31-a556-f18de37ea5fc/files/m2d0bc4ddab12a0ed76b6303d6c9a8d2f", "doi": "10.1016/j.foodqual.2018.04.003", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Accepted manuscript in the University of Oxford repository.", "quote": "Both amateurs and experts judged: (1) the aroma to be significantly stronger in the tulip cup", "accessed": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s10", "title": "Cup texture influences taste and tactile judgments in the evaluation of specialty coffee", "authors": "Carvalho, F. M.; Moksunova, V.; Spence, C.", "year": 2020, "publisher": "Food Quality and Preference 81, 103841", "url": "https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid%3A517c3980-7e53-462b-a6f0-a92d6131142f/files/m82a82373a69c00fbb51e8be69563fcec", "doi": "10.1016/j.foodqual.2019.103841", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Accepted manuscript in the University of Oxford repository; published online 2019.", "quote": "The perception of body was not significantly affected in any of the experiments.", "accessed": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s11", "title": "Cup colour influences consumers’ expectations and experience on tasting specialty coffee", "authors": "Carvalho, F. M.; Spence, C.", "year": 2019, "publisher": "Food Quality and Preference 75, 157–169", "url": "https://www.neuroscience.ox.ac.uk/publications/984940", "doi": "10.1016/j.foodqual.2019.03.001", "tier": "A", "quote": "Liking ratings significantly decreased in incongruent pairing conditions", "abstractOnly": true, "accessed": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s12", "title": "Does the Shape of the Drinking Receptacle Influence Taste/Flavour Perception? A Review", "authors": "Spence, C.; Van Doorn, G.", "year": 2017, "publisher": "Beverages 3(3), 33", "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5710/3/3/33/htm", "doi": "10.3390/beverages3030033", "tier": "A", "quote": "It is, however, not always clear that any such physico-chemical differences do, in fact, lead to perceptible differences.", "accessed": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s13", "title": "Does the shape of a cup influence coffee taste expectations? A cross-cultural, online study", "authors": "Van Doorn, G.; Woods, A.; Levitan, C. A.; Wan, X.; Velasco, C.; Bernal-Torres, C.; Spence, C.", "year": 2017, "publisher": "Food Quality and Preference 56(A), 201–211", "url": "https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:49d474d4-19c9-49c9-9429-570c026816cf/files/m0a4e779ca7aff01beecd6b25690e64bf", "doi": "10.1016/j.foodqual.2016.10.013", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Accepted manuscript in the University of Oxford repository.", "quote": "the mugs we showed to participants did not have coffee in them", "accessed": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s14", "title": "Latté art influences both the expected and rated value of milk-based coffee drinks", "authors": "Van Doorn, G.; Colonna-Dashwood, M.; Hudd-Baillie, R.; Spence, C.", "year": 2015, "publisher": "Journal of Sensory Studies 30(4), 305–315", "url": "https://www.psy.ox.ac.uk/publications/541594", "doi": "10.1111/joss.12159", "tier": "A", "quote": "the presence of latté art did indeed influence people's expectations concerning the value of the drink.", "abstractOnly": true, "accessed": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s15", "title": "The coffee drinking experience: product extrinsic (atmospheric) influences on taste and choice", "authors": "Spence, C.; Carvalho, F. M.", "year": 2019, "publisher": "Food Quality and Preference 80, 103802", "url": "https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:c3720965-ca56-490f-9c82-90a63de4d54d/files/rc821gj798", "doi": "10.1016/j.foodqual.2019.103802", "tier": "A", "tierNote": "Narrative review; accepted manuscript in the University of Oxford repository. Two studies it reports (on lighting and music) are unpublished; the entry says so where it uses them.", "quote": "In one unpublished laboratory study, Gal, Wheeler, and Shiv (2007) reported", "accessed": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s16", "title": "Who Needs Cream and Sugar When There Is Eco-Labeling? Taste and Willingness to Pay for “Eco-Friendly” Coffee", "authors": "Sörqvist, P.; Hedblom, D.; Holmgren, M.; Haga, A.; Langeborg, L.; Nöstl, A.; Kågström, J.", "year": 2013, "publisher": "PLOS ONE 8(12), e80719", "url": "https://knowledge.uchicago.edu/records/7maay-p1y76", "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0080719", "tier": "A", "quote": "although the two cups contained identical coffee.", "abstractOnly": true, "accessed": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s17", "title": "Into the minds of coffee consumers: perception, preference, and impact of information in the sensory analysis of specialty coffee", "authors": "Bressani, A. P. P.; Martinez, S. J.; Batista, N. N.; Simão, J. B. P.; Schwan, R. F.", "year": 2021, "publisher": "Food Science and Technology (Campinas) 41(Suppl. 2), 667–675", "url": "https://www.scielo.br/j/cta/a/cSjz6CM9ScRVL6KHypQdyYy/?lang=en", "doi": "10.1590/fst.30720", "tier": "A", "quote": "Consumer's expectations can be influenced by information, which in turn can modify their sensory perception.", "accessed": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s18", "title": "Label Information About Fermentation Processing Affects Consumers’ Sensory and Hedonic Judgements of Specialty Coffee", "authors": "Carvalho, F. M.; de Sousa, M. M. M.; Nadaleti, D. H. S.", "year": 2026, "publisher": "Foods 15(8), 1287", "url": "https://mdpi-res.com/d_attachment/foods/foods-15-01287/article_deploy/foods-15-01287.pdf", "doi": "10.3390/foods15081287", "tier": "A", "quote": "Coffee label information impacts consumer choice by communicating key product attributes.", "accessed": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z" }, { "id": "s19", "title": "Influence of serving temperature on flavour perception and release of Bourbon Caturra coffee", "authors": "Steen, I.; Stolzenbach Wæhrens, S.; Agerlin Petersen, M.; Münchow, M.; Bredie, W. L. P.", "year": 2017, "publisher": "Food Chemistry, 61–68", "url": "https://test01.ku.dk/:obvius/pureproxy/3974268/en/publications/influence-of-serving-temperature-on-flavour-perception-and-releas", "tier": "A", "quote": "The coffee cultivar Bourbon Caturra was evaluated at six serving temperatures ranging from 31 °C to 62 °C.", "abstractOnly": true, "accessed": "2026-10-21T00:00:00.000Z" } ], "markdown": "## One sense changes another\n\nFlavour is built from several senses at once. Taste, smell and touch act together and interact to form one perception.3 A 2015 review calls flavour perception perhaps the most multisensory of everyday experiences.4 How the senses combine is explained in the entry on how we taste coffee.\n\nA crossmodal effect goes one step further. A cue in one sense changes what a person reports in another. The cue may belong to the coffee itself, such as its smell. It may also come from outside the cup: the colour of a mug, a word on a label or the music in a room.15\n\nThe SCA calls attributes such as origin, processing information or certifications extrinsic. They cannot be discovered from the coffee itself.2 According to the SCA, extensive research has shown that extrinsic attributes affect both sensory perception and the impression of quality.2\n\n## Smell and taste in the cup\n\nThe closest crossmodal effects happen inside the mouth. In a 1999 model study, odours added to sugar solutions changed how sweet they tasted. Some odours raised the sweetness; others lowered it.6 The more sweet an odour smelled, the more it raised the tasted sweetness.6 That study used solutions, not coffee.\n\nIn espresso, the effect has been shown in the other direction. Sugar or a sweetener raised the caramel ratings of the aroma and lowered roasty ones.7 The sweeteners are not volatile, so a taste changed how an odour was perceived.7 As of June 2024, the SCA was researching whether coffee’s own sweetness is a taste or a crossmodal effect of sweet-smelling compounds.2\n\nTemperature works partly through physics. In a 2017 study, one coffee released more volatile compounds when served hotter.19 Serving temperature has its own entry.\n\n## The cup: colour, shape and texture\n\nThe cup is the cue studied most often in coffee. Three kinds of change have been tested.\n\n- **Colour.** In a 2014 study, a café latte was rated less sweet from a white mug than from a blue or a transparent one.8 In a 2019 study with 457 participants, cup colour shifted expected and rated sweetness and acidity of specialty coffee.11\n- **Shape.** In a 2018 study at a coffee event in Brazil, the same coffee smelled stronger from a tulip-shaped cup. It tasted sweeter and more acidic from an angular “split” cup.9\n- **Texture.** In a 2020 study, coffee drunk from a rough cup was rated drier in aftertaste than from a smooth cup. Both Q graders and amateurs reported this.10\n\nIn these studies, the coffee in every cup was the same. Only the vessel changed.8,9,10 Professionals were not immune. In the shape study, both experts and amateurs found the aroma strongest in the tulip cup.9 The design and history of cups are covered in the entry on cups and vessels.\n\n## Words, labels and the look of the drink\n\nWhat people are told also changes what they taste. In a 2013 study, participants tasted two cups and were told that one held “eco-friendly” coffee. Both cups held identical coffee.16 Participants preferred the taste of the labelled cup and would pay more for it – at least those with strong attitudes towards sustainable consumption.16\n\nSpecialty coffee shows the same pattern. Information about a coffee changed which flavour notes consumers ticked, and the word “fermentation” on a label made one coffee seem more acidic.17,18 These label studies are described in the entry on flavour language.\n\nThe look of the drink counts too. In a 2015 study, latte art raised the value people expected from a milk coffee. They were willing to pay more for it than for the same drink without art.14\n\n## Room, sound and light\n\nFor the setting around the cup, a 2019 review gathers the coffee evidence. It finds that visual, auditory, olfactory and tactile aspects of the environment all influence the coffee experience.15 Two of the studies it reports, on lighting and on music, were never published.15\n\nTwo examples show the state of the evidence. In an unpublished laboratory study, people who liked weaker coffee drank more of it under dim light.15 In an unpublished study with seven tasters, the results suggested that coffee flavour, bitterness and astringency seemed less intense with jazz.15 Such results are leads, not established facts.\n\n## Why cuppers taste blind\n\nCupping protocols hold many of these cues constant. SCA Standard 102-2024 requires cupping vessels of tempered glass or ceramic. All cups in a session must have identical volume, dimensions and material.1 The cup studies suggest that a different cup could shift ratings.8,9,10\n\nInformation is kept away from the tasters as well. The SCA states that tasters can be easily biased by extrinsic information about a coffee. It therefore keeps the physical, sensory and extrinsic assessments separate.2 According to a sensory textbook chapter, samples should be coded and served in random or balanced order.3 The methods are explained under sensory science methods.\n\n\n\n## Reference values\n\n| Study | Participants | Cue changed | Reported effect | Limits |\n|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Van Doorn et al. 2014, experiment 18 | 18 volunteers, 6 per mug | White porcelain, blue porcelain or glass mug; café latte | White mug: higher flavour intensity than glass | Small sample and mugs differed slightly, stated by the authors; no effect sizes |\n| Van Doorn et al. 2014, experiment 28 | 36 volunteers, 12 per mug | Glass mug with white or blue grip, or plain glass | White: less sweet than blue and glass | Only the grip colour differed; no effect sizes |\n| Carvalho and Spence 20189 | 276 analysed (151 professionals, 125 amateurs) | Tulip, open or split white cup, 173.0–176.5 g | Aroma strongest in tulip; sweetness and acidity highest in split; split liked least by amateurs | Expectations not measured; no effect sizes |\n| Carvalho et al. 202010 | 81 Q graders; 117 amateurs | Smooth porcelain (173.0 g) or rough ceramic cup (142.1 g) | Aftertaste drier from rough cup in both groups | Each group tasted a different coffee; cups also differed in shape |\n| Carvalho and Spence 201911 | 457 in three experiments | White, pink, yellow or green cup; sweet and acidic coffees | Colour shifted expected and rated sweetness and acidity; liking fell when colour and coffee did not match | Abstract only read for this entry |\n| Van Doorn et al. 201713 | 309 online (China, Colombia, UK) | Pictures of eight empty mugs | Narrow mugs: more aroma expected; short mugs: more bitterness and intensity expected | No coffee tasted |\n| Sörqvist et al. 201316 | Three experiments | “Eco-friendly” label on one of two identical coffees | Labelled cup preferred and valued higher by those with strong sustainability attitudes | Abstract only read for this entry |\n| Gater 2010, in a review15 | 7 | No music, jazz, classical or rock | Jazz: flavour, bitterness and astringency rated less intense | Unpublished; trends only |\n\nThe table lists coffee studies opened for this entry. Participant numbers are those analysed, where stated.\n\n## How solid the evidence is\n\nThe coffee studies are few and close together. All six peer-reviewed cup and latte art studies opened for this entry share one Oxford-based co-author.8,9,10,11,13,14 No independent replication of a coffee cup effect was found for this entry. Most effects are reported as significance tests on 0–10 or 0–100 line scales.8,9,10 The 2014 colour study and the 2018 shape study report no effect sizes.8,9\n\n
\n
\n
Participants in the coffee studies opened for this entry, as reported (analysed numbers where stated). The online study showed pictures only; the music study was unpublished.8,9,10,11,13,15
\n
\n\nSeveral effects are narrow. In the 2014 colour study, each experiment changed only one of six rated attributes.8 The intensity effect of experiment 1 did not reach significance in experiment 2, where only a trend was seen.8 In the 2020 texture study, the cup changed acidity for Q graders but sweetness for amateurs. Body did not change in either group.10\n\nDesigns also differ in what they measure. Online studies with pictures of empty mugs measure expectations, not perception.13 The 2018 shape study measured perception but not expectations.9 The cups in the texture study also differed in shape and in weight, by about 31 g (our calculation from the reported 173.0 g and 142.1 g).10 A 2017 review of receptacle shape notes that weight and similar factors need to be controlled. It adds that the science that explains such results is not there yet.12\n\n
\n
\n
Which cue has been linked to which coffee judgement in the studies opened for this entry. Solid arrows: a published study in which coffee was tasted. Dashed arrows: a model solution, expectations only, or an unpublished study. Arrows show reported directions of influence, not their size. Small numbers on the cue labels are sources. Schematic.6,7,8,9,10,11,13,14,15,16,18
\n
\n\n## Proposed mechanisms\n\n**Physical change.** A cup can change what reaches the nose. Glass shape can change the headspace above a drink.12 The review notes, however, that such physico-chemical differences do not always lead to perceptible differences. Claims that a shape changes how liquid flows over the tongue are rarely backed by evidence.12 Where only the outside of a vessel varied, physical accounts appear implausible.12 In the second experiment of the 2014 mug study, only the colour of the grip differed.8\n\n**Expectations.** Cues set up an expectation before the first sip. Drinks are rated more favourably in vessels judged congruent with their contents.12 In the 2019 colour study, liking fell in incongruent pairings of cup colour and coffee.11 Information can change expectations and, through them, sensory perception.17\n\n**Crossmodal correspondences.** People match features across senses in consistent ways. According to the shape review, rounder forms are associated with sweetness and fruitiness, angular forms with bitterness and sourness.12 A shape may prime the matching taste and draw attention to it.12 In the online mug study, short mugs were expected to give more bitter and more intense coffee.13\n\n**Contrast.** For the 2014 mug study, the authors suggest that a white mug may change how brown the coffee looks. That colour contrast may have changed perceived sweetness and intensity.8 They did not test this directly.\n\n**Odour–taste learning.** In the 1999 model study, the effect of an odour on taste was best predicted by how sweet the odour smelled.6 Caramel odour also reduced the sourness of citric acid.6 The authors linked the results to previously learned associations between odours and tastes.6 A related effect, oral referral, makes odours seem to come from the mouth.5\n\n## The cup-texture study in detail\n\nThe 2020 study ran three tests.10 In a pre-test, 31 coffee experts tasted while rubbing sandpaper with the other hand; aftertaste was rated more intense.10 The two conditions were not counterbalanced.10 In the main experiments, 81 Q graders and 117 amateurs each drank one specialty coffee from either a smooth or a rough cup. Ratings used 10 cm line scales from 0 to 10.10\n\n
\n
\n
Mean ratings of one specialty coffee per group, drunk from a smooth porcelain cup (filled dot) or a rough ceramic cup (open dot), on 0–10 line scales. Aftertaste: 0 = smooth, 10 = dry. Paired values read smooth · rough. n.s. = not significant. Q graders and amateurs tasted different coffees. One study.10
\n
\n\n| Attribute (0–10) | Q graders, smooth vs rough | Amateurs, smooth vs rough |\n|---|---|---|\n| Aroma | 6.5 vs 6.8, not significant10 | 5.8 vs 5.9, not significant10 |\n| Sweetness | 6.4 vs 6.3, not significant10 | 6.1 vs 5.2, p < 0.0110 |\n| Acidity | 5.2 vs 6.0, p < 0.0110 | 5.3 vs 5.6, not significant10 |\n| Body | 4.3 vs 5.0, not significant10 | 3.3 vs 3.5, not significant10 |\n| Aftertaste (0 = smooth, 10 = dry) | 2.9 vs 6.6, p < 0.000110 | 4.3 vs 5.3, p < 0.0110 |\n\nMeans as given in the paper’s table; the text gives some means to two decimals (6.67 for the rough-cup aftertaste of Q graders). The uncertainty the authors give for each mean is 0.2–0.3.10\n\nFor Q graders, the aftertaste effect was large: partial eta squared 0.63. The acidity effect was small, at 0.09.10 For amateurs, both the aftertaste and the sweetness effects had a partial eta squared of 0.07.10 Because each group tasted a different coffee, the authors note that experience and coffee type are confounded.10\n\n## Implications for cupping and research\n\n**Vessels.** SCA 102-2024 specifies cupping vessels of tempered glass or ceramic, 200–350 mL, with a top diameter of 75–90 mm.1 All cups must be identical in volume, dimensions and material.1 The standard does not specify colour or surface texture.1 Within one session, identical cups keep the vessel constant between samples; they do not remove its effect on the absolute scores.\n\n**Information.** The CVA keeps physical results concealed from sensory assessors. Extrinsic information is compiled only after the sensory assessments are complete.2 A sensory textbook chapter adds coding, random or balanced order, repetitions and individual assessment.3\n\n**Comparing studies.** Cup material, shape and colour are rarely the same between coffee studies. The cup studies above suggest that this can shift ratings.8,9,10 Serving temperature is a further variable: hotter coffee releases more volatile compounds.19\n\n## Open questions\n\n- **Replication.** No study opened for this entry independently repeated a coffee cup effect with a new research team.\n- **Size in practice.** No study opened for this entry measured whether cup colour or texture changes scores on the SCA’s Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) forms.\n- **Duration.** The shape review notes that how long such effects last has not been studied.12\n- **Coffee sweetness.** As of June 2024, the SCA was researching whether coffee sweetness is a taste or a crossmodal effect of sweet-smelling compounds.2\n- **Room and sound.** Much of the evidence on lighting and music in coffee is unpublished or small.15\n\n## Key studies\n\n
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Van Doorn, Wuillemin and Spence, 2014 – Mug colour and café latte. In two small between-participants experiments, the same café latte was served in white, blue or transparent mugs. The white mug raised perceived intensity in one experiment and lowered perceived sweetness in the other; the authors suggest colour contrast as a cause.

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Flavour 3, 10 · doi:10.1186/2044-7248-3-10

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Carvalho and Spence, 2018 – Cup shape and specialty coffee. At a coffee event in Brazil, 276 professionals and amateurs tasted one coffee from a tulip, open or split cup. Aroma was strongest from the tulip cup; sweetness and acidity were highest from the split cup, which amateurs liked least.

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Food Quality and Preference 68, 315–321 · doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2018.04.003

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Carvalho, Moksunova and Spence, 2020 – Cup texture. Q graders and amateurs drank specialty coffee from a smooth or a rough cup. Both groups rated the aftertaste drier from the rough cup; Q graders also rated it more acidic and amateurs less sweet, while body did not change.

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Food Quality and Preference 81, 103841 · doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2019.103841

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Sörqvist et al., 2013 – An eco-label on identical coffee. Participants tasted two identical coffees, one described as “eco-friendly”. Those with strong sustainability attitudes preferred its taste and would pay more for it, also when they answered anonymously.

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PLOS ONE 8(12), e80719 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0080719

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Spence and Carvalho, 2019 – The setting of the coffee experience. A narrative review of how lighting, sound, scent and touch in the environment influence coffee taste and choice. It is open about the evidence base: some studies are unpublished or small.

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Food Quality and Preference 80, 103802 · doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2019.103802

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