Tea preferences for super taster/ normal taster / hypo taster

[LeoFox]

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http://usd-apps.usd.edu/coglab/TasteLab.html

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Please share the following:

• Based on the chart above, which one are you? (Be honest)

• which kind of teas do you gravitate towards?

• which kind of teas are a no no?

• are you generally open to exloring many different type of teas?

• do you tend to brew light or heavy? I know, some teas naturally prefer heavier or lighter infusions - but which ones do you tend to reach for?

I know - this super tasting says nothing about sensitivity towards aromas - but let's leave this out of this one.


Update:
More info on supertasting
https://www.psychologicalscience.org/pu ... oshuk.html

Is there an easy at home test to check if we are super-tasters?

There are two ways to get a pretty accurate classification at home.  First, think about a scale from zero (no sensation) to 100 (most intense sensation of any kind you have ever experienced) (Bartoshuk, Fast, & Snyder, 2005).  Now think about the strongest taste sensation you have ever experienced.  If the strongest taste intensity is greater than 70, you are likely a supertaster.  There is also an anatomical way to tell (Bartoshuk, Duffy, & Miller, 1994).  Swab blue food coloring on your tongue.  Then look at your tongue in a magnifying mirror.  You will see circles (maximum diameter about 1 mm but most are smaller) that are lighter blue than the rest of your tongue.  These lighter circles are fungiform papillae, the structures that house taste buds.  Create a template: a circle 6 mm in diameter.  This is about the diameter of a hole punch like that used to make holes in notebook paper.  Place the template on the tip of your tongue so that the circle touches the midline of your tongue and one edge.  Now count how many fungiform papillae can be seen in the template.  If your have more than 35, you are likely a supertaster.  The most extreme supertaster I have seen had 60 fungiform papillae in the template.

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Another purpose for this thread is to get a sense of tasting/brewing preference of users here. This can be useful to consider when reading their recommendations for brewing parameters. For example, the brewing parameters of a super taster who naturally brews light may hold no value for hypo taster who prefers heavier approaches and vice versa.

[LeoFox]

• Based on the chart above, which one are you? (Be honest)

Between normal and hypo taster.

• which kind of teas do you gravitate towards?

Green teas >oolong>hong>white>hei

• which kind of teas are a no no?

Most post fermented, punnishingly bitter/astringent indian attempts at green tea

• are generally open to exloring many different type of teas

Yes, though - less and less over time

• do you tend to brew light or heavy? I know, some teas naturally prefer heavier or lighter infusions - but which ones do you tend to reach for?

Medium to heavy - seems to get heavier over time

[Baisao]

Based on the chart above, which one are you? (Be honest)
Hypo according to the chart but I have a conspicuously large number of papillae, which completely surprised me (and turned my stomach). I do taste bitter and pungently spiced foods but I love them for the cooling sensations they give me. I think there may be something cultural with this*.

Which kind of teas do you gravitate towards?
Green teas -- > Oolong-- > Hong-- > Bai--> Hei

Which kind of teas are a no no?
Smoked teas (campfire), malty roasts (twangy), assamicas (twangy and jittery), young sheng (jittery)

Are generally open to exploring many different type of teas
Always

Do you tend to brew light or heavy?
Medium, mostly aiming for a good mouthfeel as I've realized the rest will follow with a good tea.

—

My pre-covid experience with anosmia taught me that lingual taste has limited value with how I taste tea.

*Would a South Indian supertaster avoid chettinad because it's too pungent?

[Andrew S]

Which one are you?
- Hypo, I think (except that I hate spicy food, and don't feel any especial need to seek out strong flavour in food or explore different foods).

Which kind of teas do you gravitate towards?
- Old tea, roasted tea.

Which kind of teas are a no no?
- Astringent tea, teas that feel 'cold' or uncomfortable.

Are you generally open to exploring many different type of teas?
- Not really; I'm a creature of habit, and prefer exploring a few specific areas deeply rather than exploring across lots of different areas.

Do you tend to brew light or heavy? I know, some teas naturally prefer heavier or lighter infusions - but which ones do you tend to reach for?
- Heavy overall, especially for roasted tea, except I tend to brew old tea somewhat light (probably because I value its 'feeling' over its flavour or aroma).

- - - - - -

It is interesting how that kind of thing might affect our preferences for tea once we put aside 'flavour' (including how our sense of smell strongly affects the perception of flavour) and focus instead on things like mouthfeel.

I hadn't appreciated the relevance that the hyper-hypo taster concept might have for tolerance to high-proof spirits, but it seems to make sense. Instinctively, I put more weight on people's ability to detect aromas as influencing whether they enjoy wine or spirits, and didn't think much about the role of the tongue.

Andrew

[pedant]

haha

• Based on the chart above, which one are you? (Be honest)

sounds like hypo according to the chart. except i like cream in coffee (especially if it's not very good coffee) and i like salt.

• which kind of teas do you gravitate towards?

sheng=oolong>hong>green>white

• which kind of teas are a no no?

i like any good example of any tea probably, but i almost never drink shou.

• are generally open to exploring many different type of teas

yes, i love trying new ones

• do you tend to brew light or heavy? I know, some teas naturally prefer heavier or lighter infusions - but which ones do you tend to reach for?

it depends on the tea. sometimes a tea seems more refined or elegant when brewed lighter. sometimes a particular flavor pops more when brewed lighter also. but generally i think i brew on the heavier side. as heavy as it goes without getting too bitter or muddled.

[pedant]

It is interesting how that kind of thing might affect our preferences for tea once we put aside 'flavour' (including how our sense of smell strongly affects the perception of flavour) and focus instead on things like mouthfeel.

i'm not exactly sure what mouthfeel is, but i'd probably call it a chemesthetic effect. so therefore i'd say that mouthfeel is part of flavor (a sensory impression of taste+olfaction+chemesthesis).

[debunix]

Based on the chart above, which one are you? (Be honest)

Closest to supertaster: couldn't cope with any strong flavors as a child, and still seek them out in limited settings; can't deal with any distilled liquor but drink wine maybe once a month; am definitely a salt-fiend in preferring salty snacks to sweets.

which kind of teas do you gravitate towards?

Oolongs, oolongs, shu puerh....but it took me a *long* time to learn that not all green and black tea are bitter, and to figure out how to enjoy sencha, matcha, and some black teas.

which kind of teas are a no no?

European-style CTC black teas--English breakfast, Irish Breakfast, Earl Grey (shudder).

are you generally open to exloring many different type of teas?

I'll try almost anything once.....but there are plenty of them that once is enough.

do you tend to brew light or heavy? I know, some teas naturally prefer heavier or lighter infusions - but which ones do you tend to reach for?

Light, light, lightweight, wimpy.....

[Victoria]

Interesting I’d have thought there would be more supertasters here.

• Based on the chart above, which one are you? (Be honest)

Definitely hypo-taster, who enjoys salt, bitterness, medium spicy/hot, love umami, and new culinary adventures.

• which kind of teas do you gravitate towards?

Roasted dong ding, lishan, high mountain generally, yancha, hong, gyokuro, sencha, first flush white darjeeling, aged oolong, sheng….

• which kind of teas are a no no?

Sour tasting, dust -Lipton anyone?

• are you generally open to exloring many different type of teas?

Yes

• do you tend to brew light or heavy? I know, some teas naturally prefer heavier or lighter infusions - but which ones do you tend to reach for?

Heavy

[Maerskian]

After a quick glance still can't say where i fit, although i'd point the hypo column features some contradictory concepts.

Baisao also pointed the usual cultural suspect, i'd mention the kind of education at home as well.

[LeoFox]

After a quick glance still can't say where i fit, although i'd point the hypo column features some contradictory concepts.

Baisao also pointed the usual cultural suspect, i'd mention the kind of education at home as well.

Maybe it's the saltiness that is throwing you off?


https://www.npr.org/sections/health-sho ... heir-genes

The researchers expected that they'd be less likely to desire salty foods -– because they taste salt more intensely, they'd need less of it to hit their sweet spot, so to speak.

But they found the oppposite was true. The supertasters wanted salt to the max, up to the point where most people find foods not only very salty but irritating to the mouth. "For them, more is better," Hayes says, "and Goldilocks was wrong

[teatray]

Based on the chart above, which one are you? (Be honest)

Normal Taster

which kind of teas do you gravitate towards?

Good smell, but also combined with rich taste, but also clean, focused, and with a distinct character. That's what I generally think I like, but when my brain clicks with a tea, it is what it is.

Favored blacks, greens, oolongs for longer periods of time (still pretty new to oolongs, seldom blacks nowadays). Some whites I've tried were exceptionally good as well.

which kind of teas are a no no?

Jasmine or Bergamot-scented (drank enough Earl Gray as a kid to last me a lifetime), moldy/fishy/rotten tones, tasting of beets (heicha)

are you generally open to exloring many different type of teas?

Yes

do you tend to brew light or heavy? I know, some teas naturally prefer heavier or lighter infusions - but which ones do you tend to reach for?

Normal-heavy.

[Maerskian]

After a quick glance still can't say where i fit, although i'd point the hypo column features some contradictory concepts.

Baisao also pointed the usual cultural suspect, i'd mention the kind of education at home as well.

Maybe it's the saltiness that is throwing you off?


https://www.npr.org/sections/health-sho ... heir-genes

The researchers expected that they'd be less likely to desire salty foods -– because they taste salt more intensely, they'd need less of it to hit their sweet spot, so to speak.

But they found the oppposite was true. The supertasters wanted salt to the max, up to the point where most people find foods not only very salty but irritating to the mouth. "For them, more is better," Hayes says, "and Goldilocks was wrong

Seeing multiple conflictive points although saltiness isn't one ( arguably i use/enjoy salt more than i should ):

- Coffee: always found it awfully bitter and indeed... had to add lots and lots of sugar/honey or wouldn't drink it however... my main issue with coffee is... caffeine, deprives me of sleep for 48-72 hours ( unlike theine ). For that reason it's been way too many years since i haven't had coffee despite how much i love the aroma.

All of this becomes conflictive: managed to adapt to tea bitterness & theine over time ( wasn't easy ) , so there's a chance my approach towards coffee shifter as well.

- Alcohol: Indeed, those were kinda my early impressions ( burning, gasoline... not entirely sure but let's agree for the time being ) and thus never developed a taste for it, haven't had a sip since... decades ago, not even on weddings, birthdays, etc...

- Spiciness & open to culinary experiences are in conflict for there's cultural reasons involved: japanese "sweet" is rarely related to .... US "sweet" , Europe "sweet" just to name one... feels like forced factor on that table, worth an essay.

Then we have the whole world of spices... "spicy hot" doesn't have the same meaning on Europe/Mexico/Uruguay/India/Turkey/South Korea/South China/Angola... and each one of them have their own range of tolerance so one German loving the most aggressive spicy food might find the bar too high while tasting stuff around Mexico with those infamous sauces that make locals cry.

On my personal case i love & enjoy spicy food... as it is around here but don't actively seek it out and would certainly avoid it / be careful around hispanic countries, India, etc... which usually have stronger/more intense spices.

- Openess to culinary experiences: guess "moderate" would be the easy answer although i'm quite picky with some foods ( mostly related to education ) , then with some particular ranges i don't mind trying if they promise to be intense or even weird... and then there's food i loved in my teens ( raw oysters ) that nowadays make me puke at the thought of it.

So i'm finding some of those characteristics fit but can't see myself "fitting" on any particular column.

Also since we're on Teaforum: i still can't taste "sweetness" on tea. Love sweetness, always keep a couple dozen different honey jars around as i love to taste different ones and always buy honey on a regular basis each time i find bees flying around; love dried fruits, cacao beans ( which aren't sweet ) and artisan bean-to-bar chocolate ( which most of the time have some kind of added sweetener ), love finding different notes, etc... but that fabled unicorn so many times mentioned on tasting notes is something i fail to find ( yes, i did experiment, different kinds of water and so on ) so i'm at the stage of being trapped between "some particular area on my mouth isn't working properly" or "the emperor is naked" socially violent situation.

[LeoFox]

After a quick glance still can't say where i fit, although i'd point the hypo column features some contradictory concepts.

Baisao also pointed the usual cultural suspect, i'd mention the kind of education at home as well.

Maybe it's the saltiness that is throwing you off?


https://www.npr.org/sections/health-sho ... heir-genes

The researchers expected that they'd be less likely to desire salty foods -– because they taste salt more intensely, they'd need less of it to hit their sweet spot, so to speak.

But they found the oppposite was true. The supertasters wanted salt to the max, up to the point where most people find foods not only very salty but irritating to the mouth. "For them, more is better," Hayes says, "and Goldilocks was wrong

Seeing multiple conflictive points although saltiness isn't one ( arguably i use/enjoy salt more than i should ):

- Coffee: always found it awfully bitter and indeed... had to add lots and lots of sugar/honey or wouldn't drink it however... my main issue with coffee is... caffeine, deprives me of sleep for 48-72 hours ( unlike theine ). For that reason it's been way too many years since i haven't had coffee despite how much i love the aroma.

All of this becomes conflictive: managed to adapt to tea bitterness & theine over time ( wasn't easy ) , so there's a chance my approach towards coffee shifter as well.

- Alcohol: Indeed, those were kinda my early impressions ( burning, gasoline... not entirely sure but let's agree for the time being ) and thus never developed a taste for it, haven't had a sip since... decades ago, not even on weddings, birthdays, etc...

- Spiciness & open to culinary experiences are in conflict for there's cultural reasons involved: japanese "sweet" is rarely related to .... US "sweet" , Europe "sweet" just to name one... feels like forced factor on that table, worth an essay.

Then we have the whole world of spices... "spicy hot" doesn't have the same meaning on Europe/Mexico/Uruguay/India/Turkey/South Korea/South China/Angola... and each one of them have their own range of tolerance so one German loving the most aggressive spicy food might find the bar too high while tasting stuff around Mexico with those infamous sauces that make locals cry.

On my personal case i love & enjoy spicy food... as it is around here but don't actively seek it out and would certainly avoid it / be careful around hispanic countries, India, etc... which usually have stronger/more intense spices.

- Openess to culinary experiences: guess "moderate" would be the easy answer although i'm quite picky with some foods ( mostly related to education ) , then with some particular ranges i don't mind trying if they promise to be intense or even weird... and then there's food i loved in my teens ( raw oysters ) that nowadays make me puke at the thought of it.

So i'm finding some of those characteristics fit but can't see myself "fitting" on any particular column.

Also since we're on Teaforum: i still can't taste "sweetness" on tea. Love sweetness, always keep a couple dozen different honey jars around as i love to taste different ones and always buy honey on a regular basis each time i find bees flying around; love dried fruits, cacao beans ( which aren't sweet ) and artisan bean-to-bar chocolate ( which most of the time have some kind of added sweetener ), love finding different notes, etc... but that fabled unicorn so many times mentioned on tasting notes is something i fail to find ( yes, i did experiment, different kinds of water and so on ) so i'm at the stage of being trapped between "some particular area on my mouth isn't working properly" or "the emperor is naked" socially violent situation.

You brew 30g in 200 ml pot right? I forget.

[OCTO]

Please share the following:

Based on the chart above, which one are you? (Be honest)
Somewhat a blend of all thee. I love strong black coffee. No sugar, No cream. Like my food plain and can tolerate some saltiness. Love spicy food and always ready for a gastronomical adventure. Whiskey and wine don't taste sweet all the time.

which kind of teas do you gravitate towards?
Fresh and aged oolong, aged LiuBao and LiuAn, Fresh sheng puerh, aged puerh (sheng & shou). Pretty much any good and clean tea. Stored well with no traces of fungal growth.

which kind of teas are a no no?
Dirty and mouldy tea.

are you generally open to exloring many different type of teas?
Most definitely... provided they are clean.

do you tend to brew light or heavy? I know, some teas naturally prefer heavier or lighter infusions - but which ones do you tend to reach for?
Brew accordingly as the tea requires.

[wave_code]

-Based on the chart above, which one are you? (Be honest)

A bit across the spectrum - I enjoy whiskey and beer, natural wines, strong sour flavors, moderate to high spicyness depending on the meal, but am very sensitive to salt levels in food because for me it covers other flavors and I find it unpleasant. certain flavors will not be overpowering to me while others will be. Probably normal to hypo?

-which kind of teas do you gravitate towards?

mainly fermented teas, high roast or highly oxidized teas. liu bao, shu, more humid stored sheng, high roast TGY, still occasional red tea

-which kind of teas are a no no?

more a quality thing than a style, though I avoid sheng under at least 10 years of age due to finding it disagreeable and I generally don't like green oolongs

-are you generally open to exloring many different type of teas?

I suppose so, particularly in the fermented direction. though I think I sampled lots of different styles for a long time and generally found what works for me and tend to stick to those processing styles.

-do you tend to brew light or heavy? I know, some teas naturally prefer heavier or lighter infusions - but which ones do you tend to reach for?

somewhere in between, but it all depends on what the tea needs.

I feel like I tend to gravitate towards teas with more direct taste and thicker body than I do over aromatics or hui gan. liu an is probably the most light aromatic tea I tend to drink with any regularity, but then again that all depends on its storage. I think my taste/smell for aromas isn't as strong or sensitive as others, or maybe just not as trained - but I don't know if I tend to favor drinking certain teas because of this or as a result of this.