Roman Samborskyi/Alamy
Mike Follows
Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, UK
Acquired tastes don’t necessarily confer survival benefits: they reflect the brain’s ability to learn and attach reward to repeated experiences. Some tastes we initially dislike can become enjoyable over time because our brains are highly adaptable. At first, tastes like the bitterness of coffee or the sharpness of alcohol can trigger aversion, as bitter compounds in nature often signal potential harm. With repeated exposure, however, sensory neurons adapt, so that the intensity of the stimulus and the negative signal diminish.
This process, called neural adaptation, allows previously unpleasant flavours to become pleasurable. Coffee may gradually become linked with alertness, comfort, social rituals or a sense of accomplishment – for example, if you pulled an all-nighter to meet a deadline and you drank coffee to keep you awake.
Changes in taste sensitivity with age soften intense flavours, making them easier to enjoy. Particularly among younger people, the bitter taste of alcoholic drinks can be ameliorated and made more palatable by mixing in something sweet – lime can be added to lager, blackcurrant cordial can be added to traditional cider – until the pleasant feeling associated with alcohol consumption makes the taste tolerable and, later, enjoyable.
However, a negative experience – like getting so drunk that you end up being violently ill – can reverse an acquired taste. As a consequence, some people avoid a particular drink.
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With repeated exposure to certain tastes, sensory neurons adapt so that the intensity of the stimulus diminishes
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Taste perception can also change dramatically due to illness. For instance, some people with covid-19 experience altered taste. I couldn’t tolerate coffee for many months afterwards.
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