In humans taste is one of the five senses (along with sight, touch, smell, and hearing). Taste is chemically very similar to the sense of smell in that similar chemical reactions occur. The taste of something is the quality and flavor as perceived by an individual. As such it is a subjective experience. However, when something is tasted there are various chemical processes that take place.

In humans the sense organ that provides us with the taste sensation is the tongue, or more specifically the taste buds on the tongue. The taste buds are small lumps on the surface of the tongue which are packed with chemical receptors. The tongue has many small projections making the surface very markedly ridged. The physical receptors for the different tastes are located in the pit at the bottom of adjacent projections. There are four different kinds of receptor, those that can...