Aftertaste

Aftertaste is the taste intensity of a food or beverage that is perceived immediately after that food or beverage is removed from the mouth. The aftertastes of different foods and beverages can vary by intensity and over time, but the unifying feature of aftertaste is that it is perceived after a food or beverage is either swallowed or spat out. The neurobiological mechanisms of taste (and aftertaste) signal transduction from the taste receptors in the mouth to the brain have not yet been fully understood. However, the primary taste processing area located in the insula has been observed to be involved in aftertaste perception.

Temporal taste perception

Characteristics of a food's aftertaste are quality, intensity, and duration. Quality describes the actual taste of a food and intensity conveys the magnitude of that taste. Duration describes how long a food's aftertaste sensation lasts. Foods that have lingering aftertastes typically have long sensation durations.

Because taste perception is unique to every person, descriptors for taste quality and intensity have been standardized, particularly for use in scientific studies. For taste quality, foods can be described by the commonly used terms "sweet", "sour", "salty", "bitter", "umami", or "no taste". Description of aftertaste perception relies heavily upon the use of these words to convey the taste that is being sensed after a food has been removed from the mouth.

Aftertaste (disambiguation)

Aftertaste

Aftertaste may also refer to:

Music

Aftertaste (album)

Aftertaste is the fourth album by Helmet, released in 1997 on Interscope. This proved to be Helmet's final album with original members John Stanier (drums) and Henry Bogdan (bass). Guitarist Rob Echeverria, who appeared on Helmet's previous outing, Betty, left the group to join Biohazard. Subsequently, the album was recorded as a three-piece, with Page Hamilton covering all the guitar parts. Guitarist Chris Traynor (formerly of Orange 9mm) came on board for the supporting tour.

Aftertaste harkens back to Helmet's earlier sound, omitting some of the experimental/jazz tendencies of Betty. The album met with a mixed critical reaction and poor commercial response and went out of print in 2006.

This album along with Meantime and Betty is considered a definitive text in post-metal.

Writing and production

Hamilton said his goal in writing the album was to create a greater mix between smarts and crunch.

"I don't want to say that I'm sick of the visceral animal response that we get - I'm not, But I need more than that. I need more than seeing a bunch of kids jumping around and breaking each other's noses. I feel like I really need to communicate with an audience who will listen. I'm painted into a corner. Whatever I write in a rock 'n' roll context will elicit a conditioned response, unless I quit rock and make a country record or something."