The effect of cooling the tongue on the perceived intensity of taste

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Abstract
Two experiments were performed (i) to measure the effect of cooling on the perceived intensity of taste, and (ii) to determine whether the temperature of the tongue or the temperature of the solution was primarily responsible for the changes in perceived intensity that were observed. The first experiment revealed that cooling both the tongue and the taste solutions from 36 to either 28 or 20°C produced measurable reductions in the perceived intensity of the sweetness of sucrose and the bitterness of caffeine. The saltiness of NaCl and the sourness of citric acid were unaffected by cooling. The second experiment demonstrated that the temperature of the tongue was the critical factor for producing the effects on sweetness and bitterness. The latter finding implies that some of the inconsistencies in the literature on taste–temperature interactions might have been avoided if the temperature of the tongue had been routinely controlled. In addition, the importance of lingual temperature suggests that thermal effects on taste intensity may often be due to changes in the sensitivity of the gustatory transduction process rather than to changes in the molecular properties of the taste solutions.