What is Bitterness?

Bitterness belongs to the five tastes together with sweetness, sourness, saltiness, and umami.

Old research placed bitterness receptors in specific parts of the tongue, but that theory had long been debunked: bitter receptors have been found not only on all areas of the mouth, but also throughout the body in the gut, the nose, the lungs, and the brain.

Bitterness can be described as a physical sensation of sharpness, a pungent taste, similar to sourness, often described as the opposite of sweetness.

As chocolate tasters, whether we perceive bitterness as good or bad not only depends on the objective quality of the dark chocolate in front of us, but also on our genetic tolerance to bitterness and later adaptation.

Genetic differences make us perceive bitterness differently. Some people may be more sensitive to bitterness than others. You have probably heard somebody complaining about a specific dark chocolate being unbearably bitter, while you found it perfectly balanced. But our tolerance for bitterness can be changed and even elevated to the point of true enjoyment.

We all know someone who used to add a lot of milk and sugar to their coffee, but then switched to black coffee for health reasons, never looked back and is now raving about how coffee is way better in its purest, most bitter form. They simply got used to black coffee, and that level of bitterness is now their new norm of bitterness (so much so that if they were to put milk and sugar back to their coffee they would probably feel nauseous!). We are born with a specific sensitivity to bitterness, but palates and brains can also be trained.