Tuesday, August 28, 2018

The Difference in a Palate



As I have loved and tasted more teas one thing I have realized,
depending on the producer of the tea and their palate the tea takes
on a certain flavor.
Many years ago I toured Steven Smith's tasting room
where he talked about doing tea tastings.
At that time I didn't like any of his teas and yet he had developed several
tea businesses that were a success.
Years later as someone else took over the tasting and buying of teas,
I suddenly liked them, even loved some of them.
The more I have tasted, the more I have realized that each of our palates
is different. What one person likes, maybe someone else doesn't like.
That goes for food too.
Or does our palate change and suddenly we like something we didn't like before?
So it isn't that it is bad tea, but it may not suit my palate. 
I can taste a Darjeeling tea for sure and what one person likes 
I may think it is just OK. But when I taste from another source suddenly I love it.
My sister doesn't like creamy things and I love creamy things.
So not only tea, but food flavors and textures can be different for each person.
Just ruminating, thinking about our differences and similarities.

Do you find this to be so?
When I do tea tastings this comes to mind and I wonder.