Soda from a glass bottle is crisp, refreshing, and flavorful, because science shows that the glass interacts with the soda chemically, minorly altering its flavor and texture.

Glass bottles also prevent flavor from creeping into or out of beverages. Part of it has to do with polymers, as food chemist Sara Risch, Ph.D., explained to Popular Science.

Polymers are strings of chemicals that make up the molecules in packaging materials. These molecules can impact the beverages sealed inside, subtly changing their flavor.

Polymers in aluminum cans absorb soluble flavor from soda, impacting the overall taste. Plastic bottles contain acetaldehyde, which can also seep into the soda and impact taste.

Glass is more inert than aluminum and plastic, meaning that the polymers inside glass bottles won't affect the soda as strongly, which results in a slightly purer flavor.

Finally, glass seals in the CO2 far better than plastic, keeping the fizzy, crisp texture that you’re looking for in soda.