bitter flavor
Like unsweetened coffee
Bitter flavor is one of the five basic tastes, alongside sweet, sour, salty, and umami.
It registers as sharp and often unpleasant—the taste of black coffee, unsweetened chocolate, or certain greens like arugula.
Humans evolved sensitivity to bitterness as a warning against toxins, though many bitter foods are harmless or even prized: The bitter flavor of the IPA was an acquired taste.
- endiveBitter salad leaf
- radicchioBitter purple-leafed vegetable
- chicoryRoasted root coffee alternative
- bileLiver-made digestive fluid
- bittersweetWistful yet warm
quinine · alkaloids · grapefruit · gentian · dandelion greens · wormwood · tannins · hops · black coffee · aftertaste · palate cleanser · coffee · dark chocolate · tonic water · taste buds · polyphenols · amaro · acrimony
- Grapefruit Usesgrapefruit juice, candied peel, pink grapefruit, white grapefruit, zesting
taste quality
bitter flavorsweet flavor
Sugary taste sensation
sweetness · sweet taste · saccharine · sugary · honeyed