why does tea taste vile in styrofoam ??

[expatCanuck]

Maybe it's just me ... but I find that tea tastes absolutely wretched in styrofoam, and not much better in paper.

Perhaps tolerable in stainless (I only know this 'cause I once had a stainless camping mug).

But really only 'right' in glass or china / porcelain.

Any chemists / food scientists out there?

- Richard
(currently sipping a 2nd flush Darjeeling from Gopaldhara)

[RichGem]

IMHO, everything tastes like... uh, extremely suboptimal ... in styrofoam.

[ouch]

Water tastes bad in styrofoam.

[Slant-Fan]

I remember when Dunkin Donuts went from serving coffee in those nice small ceramic cups to styrofoam. YUK! I agree that nothing tastes good in styrofoam.

[expatCanuck]

Water tastes bad in styrofoam.
That may have something to do with it. :blush:
But tea in styrofoam to me seems particularly odious.

In contrast, I find hot chocolate and coffee to be acceptable in styrofoam.
Maybe not the gourmet expensive stuff that Jimmie drinks (http://www.generationterrorists.com/quotes/pf.shtml), but, then again, I'm not a coffee gourmand.
(Yet.)

- Richard

[chickpea]

IMHO, everything tastes like... uh, extremely suboptimal ... in styrofoam.

+1. Styrofoam = blech. Not a fan. :mad3:

[sehrgut]

Styrofoam, even food-grade styrofoam, isn't cured to the extent necessary to remove all outgassing, etc. and leave only inert polymer. Hot beverages accelerate the release of free styrene monomer, among other things.

It's not anything that'll have health effects, but it'll do an number on the flavour of anything in it. Even something overpoweringly-flavoured like hot cocoa seems to pick up the "off" flavours to me.

[galopede]

Tea and coffee only taste good in bone china. I just can't drink either from a thick earthenware/stoneware cup or mug.

Gareth

[TimmyBoston]

I drink nearly everything except for booze out of styrofoam and I can't taste the difference at all. I think it's in your head. :wink:

[David in Boston]

Maybe it's just me ... but I find that tea tastes absolutely wretched in styrofoam, and not much better in paper.

Perhaps tolerable in stainless (I only know this 'cause I once had a stainless camping mug).

But really only 'right' in glass or china / porcelain.

Any chemists / food scientists out there?

- Richard
(currently sipping a 2nd flush Darjeeling from Gopaldhara)

Funny, when I smoke a cigar at Starbucks I have to have my coffee in a porcelain mug. The coffee just doesn't taste right in a paper cup and it has a negative effect to my cigar.

David

[RetroGrouch]

I can't imagine drinking tea from a styrofoam cup. Ugh.

The cup important, but let's not forget the teapot. (Please tell me you're not steeping it in the cup..?)

Different teas benefit from different processes. But styrofoam in never good.

[sehrgut]

Funny, when I smoke a cigar at Starbucks I have to have my coffee in a porcelain mug. The coffee just doesn't taste right in a paper cup and it has a negative effect to my cigar.

The coffee at Charbucks doesn't taste right, period.

[TacoBell]

Agree about the above disagreeable nature of drinking from styrofoam BUT there was a thread on here a week or so ago about using a styrofoam cup as an emergency tea strainer. Well I tried it at work the other day and it was great! My only suggestion....use a rounded toothpick to punch the holes in the bottom. And drink out of a porcelain cup!

[expatCanuck]

... Please tell me you're not steeping it in the cup..? ...Okay -- I won't. :wink:

But I do use this (http://www.peets.com/shop/essentials_detail.asp?rdir=1&id=1024&cid=3004) at work, and a 400ml yi-xing teapot at home.

[Chuckaluck]

The coffee at Charbucks doesn't taste right, period.

Charbucks is the perfect name! :lol: Their coffee is always to strong/acidic.

[sehrgut]

Charbucks is the perfect name! :lol: Their coffee is always to strong/acidic.

Ironically, their "coffee" is actually, by most standards, rather weak. It's just so bitter and vile people assume it's that way because it's strong.

[GarageBoy]

It's a dark roast (should be lesser in caffiene compared to a light roast: side note:light roast kenyan is what you need if you desire not to blink for an extended period)
Foam cups are fine by me, though it does have a weird texture

[sehrgut]

It's a dark roast (should be lesser in caffiene compared to a light roast . . . )

Not simply weak caffeine-wise, but burnt so badly that it's thin-bodied and little flavour beyond the carmelized/burnt roast flavours.

[merkurguy]

You are getting the flavor of the styrofoam mixed in with the tea flavor. That is why porcelain or tokonameware does not give any additional taste to tea.I have a cast iron teapot that (with its strainer) gives a metallic taste to tea sometimes. It depends on the tea. A weak tea, like white tea, will be easily affected.

[Bertilak]

Maybe it's just me ... but I find that tea tastes absolutely wretched in styrofoam, and not much better in paper.

Do you use lemon in your tea? The acid in lemon will dissolve styrofoam. Try a little lemon juice directly on the cup.

Perhaps tea itself has some acidic content that will disolve styrofoam.

Bob

[Trius]

I agree that styrofoam is bad for just about any drink with the possible exception of icewater.

I think it's one reason why Tim Hortons uses coated paper cups rather than styrofoam ... if I'm not mistaken Dunkin' Donuts uses styrofoam, and I don't like their coffee to start with.

Richard: That infuser/mug is very cool. I may have to get a couple of those, including one for Mrs. Trius.

[Roman414]

I have a friend who just returned from a vacation in China. She brought back a sort of tea thingy that she said everyone there uses. It is a two-piece glass or handle-less mug made of some sort of plastic. You put your tea leaves in the bottom of the outer piece, then insert the inner part that has holes in the bottom, and fill it with hot water, and walk around drinking it. When you have about a third left, you can add more hot water. She said the driver of the tour bus was sucking on one, all the shop clerks everywhere had one in their hands, and half the people she saw on the street.

[netsurfr]

Styrofoam, even food-grade styrofoam, isn't cured to the extent necessary to remove all outgassing, etc. and leave only inert polymer. Hot beverages accelerate the release of free styrene monomer, among other things.

It's not anything that'll have health effects, but it'll do an number on the flavour of anything in it. Even something overpoweringly-flavoured like hot cocoa seems to pick up the "off" flavours to me.

I stopped drinking tea out of styrofoam (even in an emergency) after I was at a training facility and did not have access to my normal tea. I used a teabag (I know, ughhh) in a 16 oz cup of water with a lemon wedge to kill (I mean cover up) the taste of the tea. About halfway through the cup of tea, my cup started leaking. Turns out the lemon was eating away pockets in the cup and changing the structure of the styrofoam. I had never experienced this before. So, now I bring my own cups with me if I am going to be away from the office for any period of time. Then I pull out my tea strainer, a nice tea and proceed to infuse my own. I can then use a styrofoam cup just to hold my strainer and that is the maximum utility that they should have.

[vibrantdragon]

Expanded Polystrene foam cups are of vastly different quality. The lower quality ones can have styrene monomer still in them. I would not trust any of them.