Taste Buds

senses · tongue · how taste works · biology

Clusters of cells. Taste buds are bunches of special taste receptor cells found on your tongue and other parts of your mouth. These cells are your flavor detectives.

Five flavor types. Your taste buds can detect five different flavors: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and savory (called umami). Every part of your tongue can taste all five, even though many people think different areas taste different things.

Dissolved in saliva. When you eat, your saliva dissolves bits of food and carries them to tiny openings in your tongue called taste pores. This lets the dissolved food touch your taste receptors.

Brain gets messages. When taste receptors detect flavors, they send signals through special nerves to your brain. Your brain then figures out what you are tasting and what flavor it is.

Bumps on tongue. Those tiny bumps you see on your tongue are called papillae, and your taste buds hide inside and around them. They help hold your taste receptors in place.