This week we will explore another sense: taste. We often don’t really give it enough of our attention. We like this meal, or we don’t like it, we are attracted to this or that, but we rarely experiment our taste.

I love tea. And I am trying to learn plants property to mix herbal teas that would benefit me. Thing is, some of these plants are really bitter, so I had to find ways to sweeten their taste a bit. I usually add some lavender, or rose buds, or orange flowers buds to the mix. I learned to adjust my teas to my taste. And i do the same when I cook. I can’t stand garlic, my body simply refuses it. So to add this ‘kick’ that would be brought by it, I use ginger. I love assembling my buddha bowls, in which I use different ingredients, each of them bringing its own texture, color, taste, and eating them became a real experience.

When I discover a new meal, at a restaurant or at friends, I love this full awareness it brings: I am focused on each element of it, I try to decipher the mixes, and I really enjoy to discover something new.

Taste not only helps us in bringing this little bonus to filling our body with the energy we need to go on. We experience it in a sensory way, and it builds memories, and a library of what we like, what we dislike and why. It helps us to refine our perception and in doing so, it opens our mind to new experiences.

So this week, cook your favorite meal, and spend time focusing on what your feel when you eat it, what tastes can you perceive, what memories does it bring to your mind? Who are the persons you wish you can share it with? And enjoy the moment.

Because you deserve it.

the card

I was a bit concerned with this one. How to illustrate taste? These senses cards are really tricky as they relate to perceptions and not to material things… I was stuck for a while, and during one of those moments I just laugh so hard I spilled my tea on my table… During all this time, each time, I drank tea while I was thinking about it… in a bowl… I have a good collection of mugs and cups and bowls, but none of them seemed to fit the idea I wanted to express… I went online to find inspiration… nothing… then a friend posted a picture of a bowl to illustrate a quote. And that was it. The shape really rang a bell. I took it as a base, the shape, the contrasting colors… and I let the inspiration take the lead. My bowl as little to do with the one I saw that day, but it kept the essence of it I think. I wanted it to look magical, to celebrate this moment when inspiration kicked. And then I decided to put it on a rock. I really love the way it ended to look. I drew the grove as I like it, but it was far too prominent, so I blured it to leave it in the background. Still, something was missing. Everything was a bit too neutral around the bowl. And the bowl itself was far too bright in contrast… I had to find a way to link everything together… And while I was think about a way to do it, I laid back on my chair, and the sun hit me directly in the eyes…. oh! Ok! I added the sun ray, hitting the bowl and giving it this bonus I call inspiration… and here is how magic is born!

My journey

Our journal

No stickers/ cards this week, I couldn’t find enough quotes or sayings… But I will keep looking for them and when I have enough, I will post them. You never know!

I wish you a sweet week. Because you deserve it, and I hope you will have a beautiful journey in exploring your sense of taste.