The 5 Flavors and affinities for Organs.

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Sour is associated with the Liver (Wood); Bitter with the Heart

(Fire); Sweet with the Spleen (Earth), Acrid with the Lungs (Metal),

and Salty with the Kidneys (Water). Beginning TCM students, you may

want to go ahead and memorize these associations as you're going to

be seeing them a lot.

 

Too much or too little of a flavor can result in problems. How much

of each flavor a person needs in relation to the others is going to

vary according to the person's individual needs, the environment

where the person lives, and the time of the year.

 

Perception of flavors (like perceptions of thermal energy) can vary

among individuals. For example, I used to live in the desert

southwest US. Chili that would have some people fanning their mouths

and grabbing for classes of liquid would taste mild to me. I grew

accustomed to hot, spicy dishes. Also, I was very Cold so it took a

lot of Heat to warm me up or even register as Warm, not less Hot

(extremely heating).

 

Also, Spleen Deficiency can manifest as a blunted sense of taste or

an inability to taste. (Zinc deficiency also can result in this.)