Quick Q&A: Why does cola taste nicer out of a glass bottle?
It’s probably good old marketing at play making us believe that the rich brown-coloured, fizzy beverage tastes best out of a glass bottle.
Asked by: Darren McPhee, London
While it’s theoretically possible that the polymers used in plastic bottles, and to line aluminium cans, are leaching chemicals into the cola, the concentrations are probably too low to affect the taste.
It could also be likely that a psychological effect is at play. The glass bottle was the original way of drinking cola, and so it’s probably linked in our minds (via films and adverts) to that straight-out-of-the-fridge, all-American taste.
Read more:
Subscribe to BBC Science Focus Magazine for fascinating new Q&As every month and follow @sciencefocusQA on Twitter for your daily dose of fun facts.
Authors
Luis trained as a zoologist, but now works as a science and technology educator. In his spare time he builds 3D-printed robots, in the hope that he will be spared when the revolution inevitably comes.
