“Bitterness” is one of the five flavors in Traditional Chinese medicine (sour, sweet, bitter, pungent, and salty), characterized by an extremely low threshold. For instance, quinine can be tasted when present at just 0.005%, or 50 micrograms in a liter of water.

In our daily diet, common foods like bitter melon and lilies, as well as beverages like honeysuckle tea and Chrysanthemum tea, are all bitter. These bitter things are instinctively rejected by people.

The fundamental taste of tea is also bitter.

This is because tea polyphenols are the core substance in tea leaves. Although tea contains amino acids and other sweet and fresh substances, its core flavor is still bitter.

To say that people liked this bitter beverage from the start would be a lie. A young child can be tested with a sip of tea, and they will definitely refuse it.

Why do teenagers prefer Coca-Cola over tea? The reason is the same.

Before tea became a drinking custom, people instinctively rejected it. Border ethnic minorities who drink tea add milk and sugar to their Brew, while those in West Asia and North Africa add mint, spices, and sugar. Essentially, they cannot accept the bitterness.

So why can the Chinese tolerate the bitterness of tea?

In traditional Chinese medicine, it's said that “bitterness enters the heart,” helping to clear heat and dry dampness. When consuming bitter foods and beverages, people may subconsciously recognize certain benefits, such as detoxification, and thus willingly accept the bitterness, eventually forming a habit.

Long influenced by Taoism, the Chinese gradually accepted tea as a Daoist medicinal food:

From being combined with other Herbs to form medicinal formulas to the Tang Dynasty's Lu Yu advocating adding only salt to the tea broth, it wasn't until the Song Dynasty under Emperor Huizong that tea was consumed plain.

This indicates that by this time, the social custom of Drinking Tea had stabilized, and the bitterness of tea had been widely accepted, becoming a true indulgence.

In the Ming Dynasty, pan-fried green tea largely replaced steamed green tea, and the aroma of tea somewhat masked its bitterness, making it easier for ordinary people to accept. Additionally, modern tea-making techniques, such as cooling down green tea and shaking oolong tea, have reduced the bitterness to some extent, making it more palatable.

In summary, tea is indeed bitter, but due to its functional properties, people are willing to accept it;

During its long development, advancements in tea-making technology have improved its bitterness;

Moreover, the amino acids and other substances in tea can counteract the bitterness, leading to a gradual sweet aftertaste, providing both gustatory and mental pleasure;

Through the use of tea, people have developed a taste dependence and habit, turning it into a genuine indulgence where bitterness is no longer an issue.