Receptacle interacts with consumers' need for touch to influence tea-drinking experience

Purpose This study was designed to investigate how the material properties of the tea-drinking receptacle interact with a participant's motivation and preference for extracting and using information obtained via haptic perception, namely the need for touch (NFT), to influence his or her tea-drinking experience. Design/methodology/approach 72 blindfolded participants were instructed to sample room temperature tea beverages served in a cup that was made of ceramic, glass, paper or plastic. They were then asked to rate how familiar they were with the taste of the beverage, to rate how pleasant the taste was and to specify how much they would like to pay for it (i.e. willingness-to-pay ratings). Findings The material of the receptacles used to serve the tea exerted a significant influence over the pleasantness ratings of the tea and interacted with the participants' NFT, exerting a significant influence over their willingness to pay for the tea. Specifically, high-NFT participants were willing to pay significantly more for the same cup of tea when it was served in a ceramic cup rather than in a paper cup, whereas the low-NFT participants' willingness to pay for the tea was unaffected by the material of the receptacles. Originality/value Our findings suggest that consumers may not be equally susceptible to the influence of the receptacle in which tea, or any other beverage, is served. Our findings also demonstrate how the physical properties of a receptacle interact with a consumer's motivation and preference to influence his or her behavior in the marketplace.