Custom Mugs for Hot Drinks

Do you know there’s a science behind the benefits of hot drinks? Take a sip and you’ll see!

Pick your poison – whether it’s a cuppa joe or hot chocolate; lemon water, almond milk or apple cider; London Fog, Chai, Russian Tea or Dandelion Latte (there is such a thing, it’s true!) – enjoying a hot drink is just the recipe for comfort.

No Guzzling Allowed

In today’s fast-paced world, people rely on a hot beverage for waking up, reviving a workday, relaxing at home, relieving stress and lulling to sleep. Just the act of drinking something warm is enough to calm down. A hot drink must be taken slowly. You hold the cup in both hands and sip and smell and blow and wait, until the brew inside feels just right. By then, you’re ready for the taste explosion.

Believe it or not, there’s a science behind the benefits of a hot drink. Here are just a few findings.

● Caring People Hold Hot Drinks – Researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder asked participants in an experiment to hold someone’s coffee for them before the two people were introduced. Those who briefly held a person’s cup of hot coffee judged that person as having a more warm, generous and caring personality than the people who had iced coffee. This experiment studies the part of the brain where judgment of others is formed and where we process an agreeable temperature range, otherwise known as warmth.

● A Hot Drink is Both Warming and Cooling – A study by Anthony Bain at the University of Ottawa’s Thermal Ergonomics Laboratory finds if you’re warm when a hot drink reaches the thermos sensors in the stomach, it’s as if the entire body is as hot as the drink. As a result, you may start sweating, which can evaporate to cool off your entire body. “When already cold,” says Bain, “it is unlikely that the hot drink will warm you beyond the threshold to elicit sweating – so the drink will mildly warm you.”

● The Effects of Hot Drinks on Colds – When given to cold sufferers, a hot drink provides immediate and sustained relief from coughing, sneezing, runny nose, sore throat, chilliness and tiredness – according to Ron Eccles, director of the Common Cold Centre at Cardiff University. Although some of the relief may be in their minds. “Remember,” says Eccles, “symptoms are what we feel, and what we feel can be influenced by our mood, our expectations, our culture, all sorts of things.”

● Drink Up from Your Special Mug – We become attached cups of just the right degree of chunkiness, weight, feel and color, although science points to the heavier kind, which generally make the contents more satisfying. “In one of my studies, people expected to feel fuller when holding a heavy versus a lighter bowl, containing exactly the same amount (and type) of yogurt,” says Betina Piqueras-Fiszman, assistant professor at the Marketing and Consumer Behavior department at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. “This explains why I am surgically attached to my mammoth china tankard. The day it went missing in the office, I was so upset I went on strike and sent out one of those pathetic rabid global emails about it.” Too funny.

PlaqueMaker Featured Item – Personalized Ceramic Bistro Coffee Mug

Enjoy your hot beverages a little more with our red bistro ceramic coffee mug. The two and half-inch by three-inch ceramic mug holds 16 oz. of fluid. Also available in black, white, blue, pink and silver. Great for holiday gifts, or personalize your mugs with a logo for your bed and breakfast, cafe or eatery.