Ayurveda states that the taste of an herb is not incidental, but is an indi- cation of its properties. Different tastes possess different effects.

The sanskrit word for taste "rasa" has many meanings. All of them help us understand the importance of taste in Ayurveda. Rasa means "essence". Taste thus indicates the essence of a plant, and so is perhaps the prime factor in understanding its qualities. Rasa means "sap" so that the taste of an herb reflects the properties of the sap which invigorates it.

Rasa means "appreciation," "artistic delight," a "musical note." Thus taste communicates feeling, which again is the essence of the plant. Through it the beauty and power of the plant can be preceived. Rasa means "circulation," "to feel lively," "to dance" all of which is reflected in the energizing power of taste.

Taste directly affects our nervous system through the Prana, the lifeforce in the mouth, which is connected to the Prana in the brain. Taste stimulates nerves, awakens mind and senses to make us lively. Thus taste sets our own rasa or vital fluid in motion. Through stimulating prana, particularly the gastic nerves, taste affects agi and enhances the power of digestion. It is the good taste of food that is necessary to awaken our agi for proper digestion.

For this reason, bland food may not be nourishing in spite of its vitamin or mineral content. Without stimulating agni, there is no real power of diges- tion. Ayurvedic medicine has, therefore, always included the science of cooking with the right spices. Together, they are part of the field of ayurvedic herbal science.

When we are sick, we lose our sense of taste and our appetite. Taste, appetite, and power digestion are related. Lack of taste indicates fever, disease, low agni, high ama. To improve agni and eliminate disease, it is necessary to improve our sense of taste. This is why spices are such important ayurvedic herbs. The problem is that we have perverted our sense of taste with artifical substances.

Taste is the sensory quality that belongs to the element of water. Plants are the life-form belonging to the element of water. Taste thus reflects the energies and elements that operate in a particular herb.

Cloud water originally has no taste, but all tastes are latent in it. These are gathered as it falls, as it passes through the five elements in the atmosphere and takes on their qualities.

Ayurveda recognizes six main tastes: sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter and astringent. These derive from five elements; each taste is composed of two elements. Sweet taste is composed of earth and water; sour of earth and fire; salty of water and fire; pugent of fire and air; bitter of air and ether; and astringent of earth and air.

Sweet taste is basically that of sugar and starches. Sour taste is of fermented or acidic things. Salty is of salt and alkalis. Pungent is the same as spicy or acrid, and is often aromatic. Bitter is for herbs like gentian or golden seal. Astringent taste has a constricting quality, as herbs that contain tannin, like oak bark.

Though the six tastes transmit the properties of five elements, they are all based on the element of water, which manifests them. It is only when the tongue is wet that we recognize taste.

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