Quote:...He discovered that a chemical compound extracted from a Chinese fruit, called the monk fruit, helped block bitter tastes in drinks and vegetables. He and his students experimented with it, putting the extract in different drinks like rum and wine. He said when they tasted the drink with the blocker, it tasted better and less bitter.

http://www.nola.com/business/index.ssf/2..._covi.html

I haven't tried this yet. No idea if it works. But I thought it might be of interest...

Bitter blockers are very interesting substances for a number of reasons, even though there's still no 'silver bullet.'

A substance which blocks a negative taste might also block a related negative smell. As covered here, how a person experiences the taste of alcohol is related to how they perceive the smell of mones.

http://pherotruth.org/...-8245.html

Hmm this reminds me of something else on a website. http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/ab3f/
Its about a chinese berry that changes how things taste. There is some of the science in the description as well. I don't know if its anything like you posted but it seems to be pretty similar in effects.

(06-10-2013 11:44 PM)LL21 Wrote:  Hmm this reminds me of something else on a website. http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/ab3f/
Its about a chinese berry that changes how things taste. There is some of the science in the description as well. I don't know if its anything like you posted but it seems to be pretty similar in effects.

I've actually played with miraculin a bit, which is the active ingredient in those berries. We had a party. You pop a pill and rub it around your tounge then take a bite of lemon or some other sour fruit and it tastes like lemonade (or some other sour-fruit aide.) It works via a different mechanism ( I think) since it actively makes sour things taste sweet rather than just blocking the sour. Now if I could find something that would make bitter things taste sweet... that'd be fantastic.

In any case, playing with miracle fruit is a fun reason to get a bunch of people together.

Miraculin doesn't work on bitter stuff, though. I've tested it.

(06-11-2013 12:14 AM)wiserd Wrote:  I've actually played with miraculin a bit, which is the active ingredient in those berries. We had a party. You pop a pill and rub it around your tounge then take a bite of lemon or some other sour fruit and it tastes like lemonade (or some other sour-fruit aide.) It works via a different mechanism ( I think) since it actively makes sour things taste sweet rather than just blocking the sour. But if I could find something that would make bitter things taste sweet... that'd be fantastic.

In any case, playing with miracle fruit is a fun reason to get a bunch of people together.

Miraculin doesn't work on bitter stuff, though. I've tested it.

thundr posted about emptying content of pill on the tongue and it inspired me to see if it would make a difference. I tried to get better results from Alpha Brain tablets. It definitely made a difference, it worked way better but it tasted like shit. The bitter herbal taste still makes me cringe and gives me an urge to burn off the part of the tongue that it touched. I've never tasted something so bitter and so awful. The worst part is that the taste lingers

I've had different types of bitters and they didn't taste that awful. My grandmother used bitters as a cure for an upset stomach and there's a German brand of bitters that helps you digest food after a really large meal.

Thanks for letting me know wiserd I almost got the miraculin to combat bitter.

Oi - leave our bitter drinks alone!

Some of us love a good slug of Absinthe, a distinctive malt or a bitter cocktail now and then!

That's pretty interesting, should test sometimes!