the.com/bitterness
the taste your tongue invented to stop you from eating poison.
means A sharp, lingering harshness — either the literal acrid taste on the tongue or the emotional resentment that sours a person after hurt or disappointment.
from From Old English 'biter,' meaning sharp or cutting, with the abstract '-ness' suffix tacked on to name the quality itself. 'Biter' traces back to the Proto-Germanic root that also gave us 'bite' — the idea being that a bitter thing 'bites' the tongue, a sensation so vivid the same word came to bite the heart. Cousins survive across the Germanic family, like German 'bitter' and Dutch 'bitter.'
- survival sense
- Humans detect bitterness at far lower doses than sweetness.
- taste receptors
- About 25 genes decode bitter; sweet uses just one.
- acquired taste
- Coffee and beer hijack a built-in warning signal.
- hidden everywhere
- Bitter receptors exist in lungs, gut, and sperm.
- emotional borrow
- English uses one word for flavor and grudges alike.
amaro montenegro — italian digestif with 40 herbs created in bologna in 1885, known for its bitter herbal profile
radicchio di treviso — italian red chicory from veneto region with naturally bitter taste, protected pdo status since 2010
caffeine in coffee — primary bitter compound in arabica beans, varies from 1.2-1.5% by weight depending on roast