Are You a Supertaster?

I have a very sensitive palate, but I can tell you with 100% certainty that I am NOT a supertaster. (Was tested specifically for it)
FYI- super tasters are more likely to be of asian, south american or african decent.

It doesn't mean you can taste everything more intensely... merely a few specific bitter flavors. We have hundreds of different bitter receptors (because bitter usually means poison), so an extra one won't change a taste experience too much.

(I'd be very sad if someone took my coffee or tonic water satisfaction away)

 

Yawp, my palate's the s%#t!

 

nope. The gene TAS2R38 codes for a specific bitter receptor that detects compounds from Brassica genus plants (cabbage/mustard plant family), and a few synthetic compounds.

 

I wish I could stop aging. I don't want my senses to slowly deteriorate. It's very miniscule in the grand scheme of things, but the older you are the worst your senses are. Older people require bigger and bolder flavors to get the same stimulation.

 

I've been told I'm a supertaster due to distastes in certain ingredients. I'd like to try this litmus taste test to find out for sure (first I'm hearing of it). Thanks for the links and post cause I've always wondered about this.

I don't like cilantro, kale, watermelon, and anything with mint. But the absolute worse is cucumbers. If anyone's cutting into fresh cucumbers, I need to hold my breath or hork. We just need to get rid of all cucumbers in the world, period.

In answer to the OP's query, I had to get used to IPA's and it took some time, but now love them. However, there's a threshold that I seem to not enjoy that others do, and I'm not just talking about those IPAs that only hopheads enjoy. I need that balance between hop bitterness and everything else.

I can enjoy a single can of Heady, but would rather drink Alpine's Nelson over it.
Enjoyed Biscotti Break, but too bitter that I can't drink the entire bottle and would rather have what you might consider a mediocre java stout from any brewery (i.e. espresso Yeti).

 

Spica66 does not seem to be active anymore.
That was a great thread. Damn the deletions!!!

 

Also, I don't consider this supertasting thing to necessarily be a positive thing...

When I watch others enjoy a juicy watermelon in the summer, my mouth waters at how refreshing it looks. This happens every year where I would watch someone enjoy a slice and I think, "Maybe this year it'll be different.." and I take a bite, but no... have to wash down the nasty with some IPA. Maybe this year?

 

Are there also supersmellers? It'd be fun to be one when you pop an IPA open, but not when your neighbour blasts some methane.

 

Man --no more Gyros with tzatziki sauce for you! And it's sad I feel for you -- if being a supertaster means to have aversions to some flavors (and not that I like everything) then maybe I'm glad I'm not one.

 

Cool topic. I've always wondered how some people taste some of these absurd flavors. Maybe some of it is BS. After enjoying craft for about 2 years I am just starting to be able to pick out simplistic flavors and make an educated guess on specific hop varieties. If I read a review I think I can focus on a flavor and find it on my tongue, but some of that is most definitely mental.
I always have sinus issues going on and I wonder if my suffering nose loses scent and therefore more flavor.

 

I've taken that test and what I tasted, to this day, remains one of the most horrendous things I've ever tasted. I was, and to this day, remain a very picky eater. I've accepted that I am a supertaster of some sort. I don't drink coffee, never liked it. Always enjoyed the smell, so I actually love coffee in beer. It has what I love about coffee, without the raw coffee bitterness. I've also always had a hard time with hard liquor. Can't do it if it isn't mixed and even then, I wouldn't say I enjoy it. Boozy beer can be rough on me too. IPAs are a whole different story. Love them. The hoppier, the better. I enjoy the intensity that IPAs have. I'm a ***** when it comes to spicy things too, most of the time.

Personally, I think that if I am truly a super taster, that I feel that it has benefitted me in my love for craft beer. I may be in the minority and weird if its true, but I'm okay with that.

 

See every post after yours on page 2 almost.

 

Yes she is

 

Don't worry about it then.

 

Nice, me too. The taste panel is impressive, they pick up everything, not an innate ability though takes a lot of practice.

 

I can taste 2 flavors: good and bad.

 

ha! this cracked me up