Source: UF Smell and Taste Center
I have heard about different ways to assess the capacity of human beings to taste. Last month, I found an article in a prestigious coffee magazine about a test regarding the ability to perceive flavors. Researchers in institutes such as the UF Smell and Taste Center, have studied the correlation between the number of fungiform papillae (FP) in the tongue and the sensitivity to taste.
A common question for new coffee tasters is: Why do some people have more aptitude to differentiate flavors than others? Over time, the answer has come down to simply facts of physiology. This institute maintains there is a direct correlation between the number of FP and perception levels. For instance, anybody with 35 or more FP in 0.25 inch diameter could be considered super tasters. Professor Bartoshuk from UF Smell and Taste Center started using the word “supertaster” to classify those whose FP counts were 35 or more. See a picture of the detail area of the tongue with at least 60 FP. She estimated that supertasters make up about 25 percent of the American population and non-tasters, who have very few FP, constitute 25 percent of the population. So, it remains that 50 percent of the population falls in the common category of simple tasters.
The experiment to find the number of FP is simple. Professor Bartoshuk provide the following guidance, “apply blue food coloring in your tongue then place an absorbent paper, such as filter paper, since it tends to stick on the tongue better. Then count the FP in the template area on both sides of the midline at the tip of the tongue. On each side, the 0.25-inch hole touches the midline and also the edge of the tongue. That gives the template a unique position”.
I believe for those who fall in the 50 percent group, it is possible to become a good taster if they undertake a well organized training and continue to be persistent, resilient and patient. I would recommend performing weekly trials such as: Sensory kills test to recognize basic taste, triangulation test based on different coffee origins and grading, and cupping coffees to statistically compare the quantitative results. The intensity of these exercises may decrease once the cuppers consistently rate coffees.
So, like others with a physical gift a person with high density of FP may lose a great opportunity to become a professional taster, however for those who may not have such high density of FP still has the potential to overcome the gap.
Source: UF Smell and Taste Center
