Patent ID: 7950545

Claim:
A drinking vessel comprising: a glass or ceramic bowl portion for holding a beverage, said bowl portion including an interior surface, an exterior surface and a rim that has a smaller diameter than the bowl portion immediately below the rim, said rim joining said surfaces from which a user may drink a beverage, and a plurality of separate taste enhancers formed in said exterior surface in an exterior circumference of the bowl portion that is located within about 1 centimeter from said rim, said taste enhancers each having a hard, uneven texture over their entire surface, and being evenly spaced apart around the entire circumference of said bowl portion and which, when a user drinks from the bowl, contact and stimulate nerve endings at the user's lips and the end of the user's tongue so as to encourage saliva flow in the user's mouth which enhances the user's taste sensation, said bowl portion being devoid of taste enhancers below the circumference of the bowl portion that contains the taste enhancers, and the interior surface of the bowl beneath the taste enhancers being smooth.