I was watching a show yesterday on this subject and it got me thinking... I remember "tasting" a paper strip in HS Biology and it was really bitter.

Now, Real Hacienda and Del Dueno Anejo taste quite bitter to me... I guess I am a supertaster... maybe?

The point of this post is that I think I now understand why I identify with some forum members' taste buds and NOT with others. It would be interesting to have some of you do this test. Volunteers... Bueller, Bueller... Anyone?

Better regards,

A

One of the first things you have to determine as a "taster", is precisely something called "your thresholds". Your tongue can pick up 5 different basic sensations (Bitter, Sweet, Salty. Acid and Umami), but all of them have a different level of sensitivity. That is one of the reasons why some people can handle very salty food, or get "bitter blocked". That is why it is so important to have a BALANCED tasting panel so different profile tasters can complement each other. I too am EXTREMELY sensitive to bitterness (low threshold).

They way to determine your profile is rather simple: you start with 10 samples of each "sensation" at different lavels of dilution, and the moment you are able to CORRECTLY identify it, that´s when you "mark your threshold". You then do this following a random sequence so the level of "blockage" can be determined, and also understand why some stimulus can actually impair your mouth for long periods of time, no matter how much you wash or "neutralize" with bread, cheese, etc...

When people dont know this, they tend to consider tasting as something "personal and subjective". They are 100% right about the "personal" side, but tasting is actually very objective. A similar thing happens with aromas, so mix all that and you end up with some really complex sensorial evaluation to analize! So, once again, it is good to remember the basic principle behind structured tasting exercises: taste with your mouth. If you compare your taste sensations to a person who has a DIFFERENT threshold level profile (something that is VERY LIKELY to occurr), you can (and SHOULD) expect some noticeable differences when comparing taste notes.