Research: Caffeine best from favorite mug

SHEFFIELD, England, March 13 (UPI) -- A British researcher says a person's morning coffee or tea really does taste better when served from a favorite mug as part of a ritual.

Dr. Tom Stafford, a psychologist from England's Sheffield University, said the brains of coffee and tea drinkers are trained to believe that maximum enjoyment of the beverage comes from following a specific ritual, The Daily Telegraph reported Friday.

"Drinking tea and coffee is very ritualistic and people become very addictive to the way they want their brew made," he said. "Caffeine is very much a drug of reward and like any addict, people develop passions on how the drug is delivered. Where ever there is drug use then rituals will always develop."

Stafford said research indicates that 65 percent of Britons prefer to drink from a favorite mug in the morning.

"The long association with the delivery of a morning cup of coffee or tea people genuinely think it tastes better out of a particular cup," he said. "It might be irrational or arbitrary but it's absolutely true. Your daily brew tastes better from your favorite mug.