Things that temporarily damage your taste

[Corona]

a whole bag of salt and vinegar potato chips..not that *I* would eat a whole bag...just sayin...

Mmm. I agree. They're delicious, and I totally confess to eating an entire bag, then trying to drink tea. Not the best, but they're so tasty!

[Glaudge]

Food in general. Thats why I don't eat and drink tea at the same time.

if youre not trying to make a precise taste analysis, tea goes very well with something sweet and rich, they kinda balance each other out, but the food does mask some of the more subtle tea flavors.

[ABx]

I would say that anything with a simple and very strong flavor, such as sugar, candy, chips (crisps for the Brits), and so on; especially if your palate has become accustomed to such things.

I think that also covers a lot of what's already been specified

[debunix]

Chocolate really messes up my taste when it comes to Shupu!

A nice fruity dark chocolate really goes well with delicate fruity white teas (bai mu dan!), and floral sweet and spicy oolongs, though.

Another reason to miss it.

[Proinsias]

Whisky, wine, blue cheese, cigar and pipe last night seemed to dull my taste buds a little. Strange.

[Chip]

Whisky, wine, blue cheese, cigar and pipe last night seemed to dull my taste buds a little. Strange.

[Glaudge]

very strange indeed! one would certainly've thought that a cigar would certainlly be healthy on the taste buds !

[mosshorn]

Whisky, wine, blue cheese, cigar and pipe last night seemed to dull my taste buds a little. Strange.

uhhh....you might want to steep double the normal time to taste tea after that. Maybe triple, like a teashot

[Alucard]

Celery, plain. Even though it's supposedly 90% water it does leave a lingering flavor in the taste buds. Go ahead, try it.

[Nerys54]

Medicines pills affect taste I find.

[茶藝-TeaArt08]

I find that pungent spices like garlic, onion, chives can really bring out certain unpleasant characteristics (excessive astringency) and dampen more pleasant ones. Especially with greener oolongs, I find that these flavors make it harder for me to taste tea properly for quite a few hours.

Rich T mentioned once that a tea seller told him that banana makes teas taste better than they actually are.

The same is true for me...garlic, onion, chives, etc. It does seem to take hours for my mouth chemistry to reset. Banana is curious because when I first saw this thread I also thought how, for me, bananas seem to alter my taste unpleasantly for a short time and linger.

[wyardley]

Tongue scraper can help sometimes with the more pungent flavors.

Sometimes a really astringent or bitter tea can also make it hard for me to taste other teas for a while, without being especially sensitive to those flavors / sensations.

[hopeofdawn]

Grapefruit! I learned the hard way--do not drink tea right after eating grapefruit.

[Risdt]

Belgian cuisine is quite heavy on cream, milk, cheese,chocolate, cabbage, onions, and salted/smoked meats, not for the delicate tastebuds. Especially milk products(especially cheese) and chocolate seem to dull my tastebuds. I frequently use a tongue scraper and it does improve my taste sensivity.
Though I still prefer strong, powerful flavours and can't really enjoy weak brewed, subtle teas.

[yalokinh]

I thought citrus fruits were bad, and then I tried eating something after a green apple, OY!