Bitter taste perception

Whether certain bitter compounds taste intense or barely register comes from a combination of three changes in the TAS2R38 bitter-taste receptor, which sets the taster versus non-taster form. Reading all three together captures the trait better than any single one.

Possible results

Strong bitter taster. You carry mostly taster copies across the three TAS2R38 positions, so compounds in foods like raw broccoli, Brussels sprouts and tonic water taste sharply bitter to you. This can make certain vegetables less appealing, which is biology, not fussiness.

Bitter non-taster. You carry the non-taster form on both copies, so these particular bitter compounds register as little or no bitterness. Coffee, dark beer and raw cabbage-family vegetables probably taste milder to you than to most people.

Bitter taster. You carry at least one taster copy of the TAS2R38 receptor and detect these bitter compounds normally. This is the most common result and matches typical sensitivity to bitter vegetables and drinks.

Evidence & sources

This panel reads A49P, V262A, I296V.

Reads all three TAS2R38 changes that define the taster versus non-taster form, so this is a complete read of the main bitter-taste variant. Because of how this kind of test works, a few rare in-between forms cannot be reconstructed perfectly.

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