I wonder how easy it is to get so used to some flavors, that one does not enjoy other flavors as much as he should enjoy them.
I think about this now because a week ago I visited someone who served several very special teas. I enjoyed the teas a lot & was aware how superior they were to most; yet, I also kept feeling that each was not "my cup of tea". I am sure that a few years ago that I would have been writing down the names & vendors of at least a couple of the teas.
A few days later (in a good teashop) I drank teas that I also liked but did not think to acquire.
I think my palate had become conditioned to one tea. Several weeks before these tea sessions, I had been drinking only one tea, Himalayan Orange from Jun Chiyabari. It's delicious but while enjoying 2 - 6 cups a day of this, I desired variety. When I got variety, some of it very good; my body was not ready for it----I think.
I have been home for a few days & hardly sleeping (how jet-lag works on
me sometimes); and, I have been drinking lots of teas in great quantity. I
think I weakened the "conditioned response". Now my mouth is ready to taste .....
Thoughts & comments about this, your similar experience, etc., are welcome. Cheers
Apr 3rd, '15, 08:58
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Re: Conditioned palate?
It's all in the mind, Ethan. We all tell our own story. Sometimes, it sounds like someone else's. 
Re: Conditioned palate?
That's definitely never happened to me, although sometimes I get bored of a type of tea and have to move onto something else for a while. I drank aged sheng after weeks of oolong and it was a very welcome respite from the Singaporean oolongs I'd been quaffing.
