You might think you know how to make the perfect cup of coffee or how to sip your champagne but these essential tips are going to make your drinks taste so much better.

Most of us would be guilty of this one. According to experts, the wider the glass, the better it is for champagne as it allows it to open up more so you can enjoy all the aromas and complexity. While flutes look pretty and show off the bubbles, instead try a coupe glass, which has a wider bowl-like opening. Plus, it looks like something Marilyn Monroe would’ve sipped from.

While it might look cool, spraying champagne everywhere because you opened the bottle incorrectly is just plain wasteful. Instead you need to take control of the bottle. First, place your thumb on top of the cage. Then untwist while keeping the wire frame on the cork. Lastly, and this is the most important part, twist the bottle away from the cork, instead of the cork away from the bottle.

There’s nothing nicer than a crisp glass of bubbles. Unlike water, champagne is best consumed nice and cold, but it doesn’t stay very nice if you leave it in the fridge for too long. This is because humidity in the fridge dries out the cork, loosening the seal and letting the champagne oxidize faster. So unless you’re likely to consume your bottle of unopened bubbly in the next three to four days, take it out of the fridge and store in a cool, dark place.

With temperature being so key with champagne, make sure you hold you glass by the stem, as clutching the bowl will only transfer heat from your hand to the bubbles.

On a hot summer’s day or after a big workout at the gym, there’s nothing like chugging back a glass of ice-cold water. But as good as it feels, according to Chinese medicine drinking cold water takes the body out of equilibrium by knocking it out of its “optimal working temperature”. So next time you’re thirsty opt for room-temp H2O instead.

While some people might complain that certain countries serve their beer too warm – we’re looking at you England – there’s actually some method to the apparent madness. According to experts, the more alcoholic the beer, the warmer the temperature it should be consumed at. Experts even recommend taking some beer, like crafts and ales, out of the fridge 10 minutes before you drink them to fully expose the flavors.

Sometimes when you order a beer and there’s an inch of foam on top you can feel a little ripped off. But before you ask your bartender to top your glass up you should know that the foam is an integral part of the beer experience and actually enhances the flavor. According to the Beer Advocate, the foam acts as a net for the beer’s volatiles, like hop oils and spices, and slowly releases the brew’s complex flavor and aromas.

Sipping a cold beer from an even colder glass might feel like the ultimate drinking experience but, in actual fact, frosted mugs cause beer to foam, killing their carbonation and losing its aroma. So next time just stick to a room temp glass instead.

Just like champagne, choosing the right vessel for your beer can enhance the experience. Like we previously mentioned, foam on a beer is incredibly important in expelling taste and aromas, and certain glasses can help with the retention and formation of foam. According to the Beer Advocate a Belgian strong ale is best served in a goblet; English bitter and American stout are great in a mug, while most lagers benefit from a pilsner glass.

It might surprise you but some beers, just like wines, get better with age. But we’re not talking about the regular type. Heavy stouts, barley wines, Belgian strong ales and lambics are all great for storing for over a year in a cool and dark area. If you have a regular bottle of beer languishing in your fridge, it does have an expiry date and it best ditched around the three-to-six-month mark.

The well-worn debate, how do you make the perfect up of tea, has been settled thanks to science. Dr Stapley of England’s Loughborough University established that putting the milk in after the boiling water is wrong as it causes the milk to heat unevenly. This causes the proteins in the milk to denature, meaning they lose their structure affecting the taste and contributing to that skin you get on the top. In short, put the milk in first.

While you might want a quick cuppa, to brew the perfect tea you’ll need to have patience. According to tea makers Twinings a teabag should be left to brew for two and a half to three minutes. This allows the flavor to fully develop.

Instead of painstakingly chopping up ingredients and blitzing your smoothie every morning, make a big batch on a Sunday night, pour the mixture into muffin tins and freeze. Then each morning simply throw a “muffin” in the blender for the quickest and easiest breakfast ever.

Sick of making a smoothie only for there to be lumps throughout? You can fix this issue by simply changing the order of ingredients you put in the blender. First add liquid, then soft fruits and/or vegetables and then the ice on top. This lubricates the blades so it’ll be easier to cut through the harder stuff.

When making smoothies there’s nothing worse than it being so thick it’s like a meal or so thin it’s like watered down juice. To fix it, simply use a quarter less liquid than the recipe requires and check on the consistency throughout the blitz. If it looks too thick, just add small amounts of liquid until it’s perfect for you. It’s much easier to add liquid than it is to keep chopping up vegetables.

You don't need to rinse your wine glass if switching from white to red or vice versa. Rinsing the glass with water will dilute the wine, which will impact the flavor in a negative way – much more than a few drops of wine would.

Surprisingly not all wine gets better with age. According to experts most whites show best within one to two years of the present vintage, so if it's 2016 don't buy wine older than 2014. Reds have a longer shelf life and can get better within about three to five years, unless they’re more expensive or higher tannin varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, which can age for up to 15 years.

While no one likes a warm glass of white wine, when you chill it too much it deadens the aromatics. Instead white wine should only be chilled to about 50°F (10°C), a little less for fuller-bodied wines and a little more for lighter-bodied wines.

It’s a myth we’re all guilty of falling for, but surprisingly some reds can be served chilled, and they’re better for it. Lighter bodied reds including Pinot, Zinfandels, and Port wines taste better with a slight chill, so aim to have them at around 57 to 61°F (14 to 16°C).

If you want to make your brew a little creamier, add milk, but steer clear of the cold stuff. Hot milk can transform a cup of coffee from good to great in a matter of seconds but if you don’t have a fancy coffee machine never fear. To make instant hot, foamy milk, just pour some milk into a jar and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Then place the jar into the microwave for another 30 seconds, add to coffee and you’ve got instant Starbucks.

If you're guilty of throwing away old coffee, stop and step away from the trash can because there’s a brilliant, and delicious, way to reuse your old coffee. Simply pour the leftover coffee into an ice tray and freeze. When you’re craving a caffeine hit, just toss the coffee ice cubes into a glass and add milk. Once the cubes start to melt, you'll have a seriously tasty iced latte.

If your coffee is too bitter, don't force it down or add heaped spoonfuls of sugar trying to make it taste better. Instead try adding a little bit of salt. Salt helps to block your tongue from that unpleasant bitter flavor, and saves you from having to add unnecessary sugar to your diet.

A drink before bedtime can make it easier to fall asleep, but booze-fuelled snoozing quickly becomes disrupted. According to a 2013 review of the research, alcohol typically disrupts sleep during rapid eye movement or REM sleep, leading to a decreased amount of time spent in this crucial stage. So nix the scotch and sip on a camomile tea instead.