The Influence of Teacup Shape on the Cognitive Perception of Tea, and the Sustainability Value of the Aesthetic and Practical Design of a Teacup

Abstract

The ceramic industry is among the most profitable industries in the world, but, because of the use of nonrenewable materials and high fuel consumption, it also has a carbon footprint. Ceramic materials account for the majority of drinking vessels. Several scholars found that consumers’ awareness of drinks and purchasing desires are highly correlated with a vessel’s shape and color—in other words, the visual stimulation. However, since prior studies have focused on alcohol, bubble drinks, juice, coffee, cocoa, etc., there has rarely been any research on the appropriate drinking vessels for Chinese tea. This study intends to investigate the visual design of vessels for Chinese tea, in terms of its impact on the taste of the drink, by integrating the thinking and methods of expert users and designers for the sustainability of design and industry. In this study, tea experts and designers were asked for their opinions as a means of data collection. Fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (Fs/QCA) was used for data analysis. This study proved that the design of a tea-drinking vessel could have an influence on the perception of the taste and scent of the tea. This research not only brings new meaning to the traditional concept of teacup design, but also reflects famous Japanese craftsman Liu Zongyue’s idea of practical beauty, which is beneficial to promoting Chinese tea culture, and contributes to sustainable design and sustainable behavior.

Preliminary Research into the Sustainable Responsibility of Teaware Design—A Fs/QCA Analysis of the Influence of the Smell and Taste of Tea through Visual and Tactile Perception

“…In contrast to Van Doorn et al's work, the thickness of the teacup did have effect on the tea taste and fragrance in this present study. Despite some literature [52,55,56] suggesting that the flavor of coffee, beverage and tea is associated with the height of vessels, the present study found the height of teacup had no impact on tea taste and fragrance in both groups. Chinese tea is always hot, so the standard steps of drinking Chinese tea is to observe the tea color, smell it, and then taste it.…”

Smart Tea Utensil Design for Improving Beginners’ Tea Brewing Experience

“…The methods for brewing tea from different types of tea leaves differ slightly. In a study [20], the tea-brewing method recommended by the Tea Research and Extension Office of Agriculture and Food Agency of the Executive Yuan was adopted for an experiment. The method involves adding 3 g of tea leaves into a white porcelain cup, adding 150 mL of boiling water at 100 • C, and then steeping the leaves for 5 min.…”

“…Teacups and teapots are the essential tea utensils used for tea brewing. Teacups possess aesthetic and artistic value, and the cup shape affects the mouthfeel while drinking tea [20]. Modern teacups have diverse shapes and styles, and people may use ornamental or functional tea utensils while brewing tea; such utensils include serving pitchers, tea chopsticks, tea scoops, and tea sticks [17].…”

Development Path of Tea Culture and Aesthetic Education Integration in Higher Vocational Colleges and Universities Based on Collaborative Filtering Algorithm

“…The tea culture is an exceptional traditional Chinese culture, which involves the production and consumption of tea in China. Literature [10] integrates the thinking and methods of expert users and designers into the design of tea utensils, and combines the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis method to study the influence of the visual design of Chinese tea containers on the taste of beverages, which is conducive to the promotion of the development of the Chinese tea culture while mapping out the concept of "practical beauty". In addition, tea culture helps to cultivate sentiment, literature In addition, aesthetic education is the combination of aesthetic teaching and beauty teaching, which enhances people's ability to recognize, understand, appreciate, and create beauty through education, and is the embodiment of cultivating morality, intelligence, physical fitness, and aesthetics in the new era.…”