eli5 Why does cold water taste and feel different then warm or hot water?
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Cold basically reduces our sensitivity to taste, so we don’t taste the stuff in the water that gives it a taste as strongly when it’s cold (same reason cheap beer advertises being served ice cold, somyou don’t taste the cheap beer).
As for mouth feel, I can’t really speak to that, as other than the temperature they feel the same to me.
The viscosity of the water changes when it’s warmer or colder. It’s “softer” when it’s warm. Also as others stated, you taste more when it’s warm.
The “taste of water” is a divisive topic, but let’s assume that the combination of the water and whatever non-H2O stuff is in it does have a taste.
The tongue has a number of distinct taste receptors. Aside from other factors, different receptors are responsive in different temperature ranges. So apart from anything else, you’ll be getting a different mix of signal strengths from the different receptors.
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