zin1953 wrote:I thought it was sweet, salt, sour, bitter and umami. What does "pungent" taste like?

Excellent question. We have only recently admitted the existence of umami, long well described by the Japanese. The additional tastes astringent and pungent come from the Indian tradition. Characterized in the Vedas ("The Knowledge" or "The Truth"), the collected knowledge of the Indus people was codified into written form about 3,500 years ago, but is derived from an oral tradition of rigorous memorization that is likely far older. Anyway, they describe six tastes including pungent and astringent. Pungent may be the same as umami or savory, but I included both terms for good measure.

another_jim wrote:You are simply adding the ridiculous implication that what you like is natural, whereas what other people like is not.

Yes, that is correct I am better than other people.



Not really, I just want to spark discussion and get people thinking a bit about the different tastes of coffee.

My understanding of the modern definition of pungency is that it might be connected to smell or pain, or is an altogether different sensation. Onions might provide a good example of pungency. Maybe a clearer definition can be dug out of Google Scholar.

Spiciness is another distinct sensation and has an obvious relevance to flavor; though maybe not so much in coffee.

Astringency is a tactile sensation (or is the cause of a tactile sensation) that is complicated and I'm sure someone else can expand on it. It's of immense relevance to coffee. Most of my favorite coffees have a relatively low astringency and bitterness.

The understanding of these are actively evolving as biological science does. Sound good, drdna?

A couple interesting articles in Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pungency
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tactile
Astringency, pungency, spiciness and coldness (think "menthol") maybe can be linked by the term "somatosensory". Man this stuff gets complicated; I may need to give in and take a couple anatomy classes.

I used to mix sound for a friend of mines blues band both locally and we did gigs in NY city too. I often think of a good tasting coffee/espresso like a good music mix. It's not really about balance but more about having everything in it's proper and pleasing proportions and position.

PS Hi Peter, Hope school is going well for you.

farmroast wrote: It's not really about balance but more about having everything in it's proper and pleasing proportions and position.

Hmmm.

Mixing is the art of making what you see heard, and making lyrics intelligible.

If I see a banjo, I'd better darned well hear one.

All else is psycho acoustics.

Coffee is far less complicated than mixing music, that's why mixing music is my profession and relaxing by making coffee is my hobby! ; >