Your taste has changed over the span of your lifetime. Perhaps you're eating things now that you never dreamed of before. Research states that it is not uncommon for our sense of taste to alter over time. We start off with 10,000 taste buds and these expire and regenerate like every other cell in the body.
It Starts When You're Young?
At the age of five, I remember rummaging through my Halloween goodie basket and hoarding all the brightly colored packaged M & M's and tossing all the Peppermint Patties into the bin. The thought of dark chocolate as a five year old disgusted me but now I find the taste much more agreeable.
I like to think my simple palette has been developed to consume a complex myriad of flavors. With our taste buds varying in sensitivity to different types of tastes and personal preference changing over time. So the question is: Is preference in chocolate solely due to change in taste over the years? I hope to explore this by reflecting upon on my own personal journey.
During my childhood is when I first developed a fondness for chocolate. This particular moment happened during elementary school when my teachers introduced the 'good classroom behavior' method. If a student completed a task or assignment and followed the rules, they were rewarded in return. I, just like my other classmates immediately associated this with good behavior. However, it served as a positive reinforcement here and that's pretty much it.
In truth, even by the age of eight, there were not many factors that come to mind when deciding to choose a chocolate bar. What mattered most, at least in my kid brain, was whether I'd be bouncing off the walls due to the high content of sugar. Taking this into mind, M & M's were the first signature brand that I was conscious of and preferred as a kid. Not to mention that this iconic chocolate was one of the best selling in America and was most popular among the younger populations.
As a kid, I perceived M & M's as fun and colorful chocolate candy shells that melted in your mouth. There was a different character for the different types of colors and varieties. Frankly, my love for chocolates started with this colorful and fun brand. It was not necessarily the taste that gripped me but the nostalgia and emotional strings of attachment all together.
As I entered adolescence, my attitude towards chocolate completely changed. Between sports, classes, clubs, after school activities and tutoring, I was always hungry. I was craving it all the time. While M & M's still appealed to me, my 16 year old taste buds craved something more hearty and indulgent. A Snickers bar killed the hunger bug and the combination of chocolate, caramel, peanut and nougat satisfied my developing palate. Snickers also appealed to me because it was fun and as a 16 year old teenager trying to find one's identity, this was not exclusive to me.
Now that I am in my twenties I would like to say that my sweet tooth has matured. I prefer something high quality that holds sentimental value, like a box of Ferrer Rocher. These individually wrapped candies filled with a hazelnut and spread that have a texture of a crunchy wafer shell, are truly appealing to me. You know that you are eating a premium chocolate brand which supplements the multi-sensorial experience.
In conclusion, I do not believe that age alone alters our taste in chocolate. Yes, my older self has a more acquired palette compared to when I was younger. However, I mainly consider my personal perception of a brand and the overall experience. Other additional factors that now influence my preferred tastes are flavor trends, organic ingredients and their origin and ethical trade. Simply, I want you to have a taste of something beyond the taste of others.