TASTE BLINDNESS (and how do you know if you have it?)

Nontasters, supertasters…this subject gets frequent mention on the forum. The following article will provide more information including a test you can do at home to decide what you are. It also explains how this phenomenon impacts your eating, drinking and smoking habits.

Taste Blindness: Tongue Test - Are You a Nontaster, Normal Taster or Supertaster?

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interesting. as you know, i came here to get help with my taste issues.
so far my findings are %50 my DIY, %25 gear(coils etc), %25 me. but i can taste.
i am using a bought juice and i can taste it. in the very same rta(i just switched juice) i had my DIY coffee thingy, couldn’t taste much, but fidling with the rta did bump up the flavor a tad.

i would like to try those PTC strips, but i’m not going to buy them. i do however know i can taste bitterness, oh yes.

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I am unfortunately a supertaster. I wish I wasn’t, it’s one of the reasons I don’t like a lot of recipes. @authormichellehughes had a post just like this one a year or so ago

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Thanks for posting that, Dan. I went searching before I posted but didn’t see this one.

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I just tried the PTC strip test last week w/ a friend. He tasted the bitterness immediately while I tasted paper…just paper. My friend thought that since I disliked certain foods that I just HAD to be a supertaster (I don’t get that logic). So, he shoved another test strip in my mouth with the other two (the one I tried turned out to be two stuck together). I was looking kinda goofy at this point, with three test strips sticking out of my mouth, but my friend was still not convinced by my paper-tasting so he had me flip them around in case the bitterness was on the opposite ends of the strips. Nope, still paper.

Next up I’d like to try the test that @muth posted, to find out how few taste buds I have. I think it’s safe to say I’m a nontaster, though.

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yeah know, i had forgotten all about this. does your friend vape ?

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I’d like to know your outcome :grinning:

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Many flavors that others find super great do not taste good to me.
The popular Custard Premium from FA tastes like melted plastic to me.
Really strange.

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What custards taste good to you?

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I remember we spoke about this a few weeks ago. A vial of 100 PTC test strips is inexpensive. They’re less than $5. My friend doesn’t vape, but his freezer is vape-friendly. :smile:

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@muth I just need to figure out where to buy the circle things to measure the area on the tongue.

It took me a while to realize the dye they’re talking about is the stuff that’s used to dye Easter Eggs and to color frosting. One of the brands is by LorAnn. I thought I’d have to order the dye, not pick it up in the grocery store. LOL :smile_cat:

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the reason i ask = when i started vaping, the flavors were INTENCE compared to what i get now. leading me to speculate that some tongues get worn down.

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Vapors tongue?

There is a weird phenomenon that happens with certain people; they stop tasting certain flavors. Strawberry and peach for me

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The whole science of being a supertaster based on the tongue is a tad dubious: The perception relies more on the receptors as they communicate to the brain. A slight reduction of the biochemistry and neurobiology but, I recommend being classed as a supertaster due to the tongue as being as reliable as relying on a tongue map in the 21st century. [hmmm, stretched my ‘as’ limit for the week].

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i really don’t know, and sadly i have not put in enough scientific testing to discover the cause. but, my first rta, a Recurve, i dripped some menthol on it. and while i did not dislike the flavor, it was sooooo strong that i nearly spit it across the room. i did not try menthol for a long time because of that, i was scerd.

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I will create a guide to this, if the miasma makes it viable.

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I know exactly how you feel.

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Taste is so subjective which is why there are so many options for juice, food, beverages. Regarding being a “super taster”, the only thing I know is that I “super” like to vape, eat and drink a variety of sparkling waters (I’m one of those clean and sober folks). At one point I was called a “super sniffer” because of my love of colognes and the ability to “nose out” about 50 different ones by scent. I also enjoy coffee from a lot of different regions around the world. Since I no longer drink wines, whiskeys and other alcoholic libations, I have substituted different coffees from around the world. And the good news is I’ve never been stopped by the police and asked, “Would you step out of the car…you smell like you’ve been drinking coffee”. I’ve never been put in handcuffs for drinking sparkling water and have not spend one night in jail because of my love of ice cream. :wink:

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