Of all beverages, water is decidedly the most universal. Its consumption spans cultures, species, and even kingdoms of living creatures. It is the most drunk drink of all time. Yet culture still interferes and manages to differentiate how water is consumed around the world. Today there are fairly distinct cultural preferences for the temperature of the water we drink. In Asia, where tea was invented, water is served hot. In North America, where refrigeration was invented, water is best served on the rocks. In Europe, where there was apparently no innovation in liquid temperatures, room temperature is the norm.
The temperature of the water we drink is not a cultural axiom, but is influenced by strong preferences. Everyone can, and likely does, drink water at a wide range of temperatures, but customs dictate one is more common than others. We can see just how embedded into culture these preferences are when we read cross-cultural commentaries.
Fei Xiaotong, a renowned Chinese sociologist, commented on the American tendency to drink iced water in 1943. “What made me most uncomfortable was the glass of water. American ice water has its good points (except for Chicago’s, which tastes of bleach), but to drink it with Chinese food that has been cooked in oil is all wrong. I’m amazed American stomachs can stand such an invasion of congealed grease; maybe this is the reason foreigners say Chinese food is hard to digest. In any case they cannot put down a meal without ice water.” (Xiaotong) Such a view prominently echoes the common Chinese belief that hot water helps with digestion.
Meanwhile, an American newspaper showcases the tensions between Europeans (British) and Americans in a 1914 travel piece. “ICE WATER CONSIDERED A CRIME. I have become so unpleasant at my inn that I can get a piece of ice about the size of a skinned almond along with my drinking water.” The American author later describes a conversation with a hotel worker in London, “‘Iced watah?’ she asked. ‘What for?’ ‘To drink, dearest,’ I said chattily. ‘Not bathe in, I assure you. Nor do I care to have it cooked. I want ice water—just common water, in a high glass with a hunk of ice in it—to pour down my throat. I haven’t had regular ice water since I left New York’” (The Times-Picayune, 1914)
Finally, Wu Tingfang, who served as Minister to the U.S. under the Qing Dynasty, wrote in 1900, ‘”we would regard with horror the suggestion that we should add anything to the contents of our teapots beyond hot water and tea. Imagine putting rum in teas, as I am told is sometimes done here [in the States] as is said to be a common practice in Russia! A cultured taste revolts from the thought.” (Tingfang)
We prefer the water we drink at a certain temperature, and at times, we have a laugh at the expense of someone who prefers it hotter or colder. It is impossible to say how to best drink water without a fair degree of cultural bias, and so we turn to science for answers.
In research on rats, the critters invariably prefer to drink warm water. In fact, rats will drink more water if the water is warm (Steiner). Another study focused on rats drinking cool water concludes, “that experience, rather than any innate tendency, is the basis for the usual preference of rats for cooler water.” (Deaux). Perhaps all creatures naturally prefer warm water, but can learn to enjoy cold water as well. Americans must just be taught to like iced water! But humans aren’t rats.
In humans, the temperature of the water we drink can have correlating physiological responses. Hot water encourages blood vessels in the skin to dilate and the skin’s surface temperature to rise. This results from the bodies physical response to the hot water and not the water itself as one study states, “the observed increase in skin temperature of 1.7°C is dramatic relative to the thermal load caused by the drink which would be expected to increase core temperature by < 0.1°C.” (Quinlan, 171) Meanwhile drinking iced water can literally change our heart’s beat by interfering with T-waves (Becker). To say that the temperature of the water does not matter is false, but the benefit or drawback of either one remains unclear.
In addition to affecting our bodies differently, the temperature of water also affects how we taste. When we drink hot or cold water with a meal, the temperature of our tongue changes, or the temperature of the food we are consuming can vary. The intensity of salty and sweet flavors increases if we eat something after having drunk hot water (Mony). Conversely, the desire to drink pure water decreases as the temperature increases—but perhaps the study making this conclusion was only conducted on ice-water Americans (Cardello).
The science tells us some things, but does not quench our thirst entirely. It is interesting to know what hot water and cold water might do to our bodies and why our bodies might prefer one over the other. Hot or cold, one is not inherently better than the other. Each can have its benefits given context and culture. It seems the Europeans have taken the diplomatic approach to hydration and just let their water be. Anyways, what is important is to stay hydrated.
Arkush, R. D. Land without Ghosts: Chinese Impressions of America from the Mid-Nineteenth Century to the Present. Univ. of California Press, 1993.
The Shallowness of Cultural Tradition Fei Xiaotong, 1943-1944
Becker, Alfred, and Herman K. Hellerstein. “Effects of Drinking Iced Water on the T Loop of the Spatial Vectorcardiogram and on the Spatial Ventricular Gradient.” Journal of Electrocardiology, vol. 2, no. 2, 1969, pp. 145–157., doi:10.1016/s0022-0736(69)81010-1.
Cardello, Armand V., and Owen Maller. “Acceptability of Water, Selected Beverages and Foods as a Function of Serving Temperature.” Journal of Food Science, vol. 47, no. 5, 1982, pp. 1549–1552., doi:10.1111/j.1365-2621.1982.tb04980.x.
Deaux, Edward, and Robert Engstrom. “The Temperature of Ingested Water: Preference for Cold Water as an Associative Response.” Physiological Psychology, vol. 1, no. 3, 1973, pp. 257–260., doi:10.3758/bf03326918.
“London Hotel Life Is Full Of Thorns Difficult to Obtain a Haircut, Ice Water or Times.” The Times-Picayune, 18 July 1914.
Mony, Pauline, et al. “Temperature of Served Water Can Modulate Sensory Perception and Acceptance of Food.” Food Quality and Preference, vol. 28, no. 2, 2013, pp. 449–455., doi:10.1016/j.foodqual.2012.12.002.
Quinlan, P., et al. “Effects of Hot Tea, Coffee and Water Ingestion on Physiological Responses and Mood: the Role of Caffeine, Water and Beverage Type.” Psychopharmacology, vol. 134, no. 2, 1997, pp. 164–173., doi:10.1007/s002130050438.
Steiner, Jacob E., et al. “Temperature Preference of Drinking Water in Rats.” Physiology & Behavior, vol. 37, no. 4, 1986, pp. 583–585., doi:10.1016/0031-9384(86)90290-8.
Tingfang, Wu. “Tea-Drinking Habit. Minister Wu Ting Fang Tells How the Beveridge, Is Brewed In China.” Wisconsin Weekly Advocate, 29 Mar. 1900.
Cassava is a common crop with a curious secret. It is full of cyanide. Raw cassava can kill adult humans, but modern and traditional processing techniques make the tuber edible. In the case of Amazonian people, fermentation makes cassava drinkable. Slightly alcoholic beers made from the root are common across the Amazon Basin.
Modern oenophiles love to read and write about their wine. So how long have people been writing about the vintage? As long as humans have had written language, wine has been a topic. Mesopotamians mentioned wine in contexts of splendor and abundance, even though they were actually beer-drinkers. Wine, of course, is older than writing itself.
Humans have been hunting rhinoceros for their horns for a long time. It turns out, we wanted to drink out of the horn. Cultures from China to Spain, India to Ethiopia, have all carved cups out of rhino horn for its medicinal properties. These cups were luxury items fit for emperors and kings.
In Mexico, alcohol made from fermented agave sap is well over a thousand years old. Called pulque, this drink can also be flavored with fruits, vegetables, herbs, or seeds. If the drink is ancient, how long have people been flavoring it? The history is complicated, but the flavored drink is enjoying a renaissance today.
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