Why Some Bitter Foods Taste Good

Kate Yoshida of Minute Food looked at the science behind why bitter foods taste good to us when bitterness was once a warning of danger. She notes that changes in food, environment, and even genetics have allowed our taste buds to accept what was once unacceptable.

We humans posses this deeply-innate, complex, finely-tuned ability to sense bitterness because having a warning system for certain toxic compounds, those produced by plants as a defense against hungry herbivores, was a big advantage for our ancestors. ...So hating bitter stuff goes WAY back. But here we are, craving hoppy IPAs, queuing up for coffee and tea, chomping on chocolate and cranberries and kale and all sorts of other foods packed with bitter compounds produced by plants. How did we get here from there?

via Miss Cellania