Kratom is fantastic, but it does have a bitter taste, which it shares with coffee, as kratom is in the coffee family botanically. If you take kratom in capsules, you don’t notice the bitterness, but your stomach deals with it. Bitterness is actually a positive attribute, for it sends certain good signals to our systems.
If you use the toss and wash method, you know exactly how bitter kratom is. But perhaps it will cheer you up to see what other beneficial plant substances are bitter. If you take the time to research each herb, you may discover some great additions to your diet.
Bitterness is a quality that includes a sharp, pungent aroma, a dry, chalky consistency, and causes an immediate reaction on the tongue. It can be pleasing, tolerable, alarming, or revolting – depending on the person and the substance.
The word “bitter” is associated with resentment, anger, disgust, antipathy, hostility, and other negative emotions. Which is unfortunate, because bitter herbs are anything but negative. They have glorious, magnificent benefits to impart to those who use them wisely and creatively.
Many bitter herbs may taste not so great on their own, but mixed with honey, or sugar, or other flavorings, they can suddenly be transformed into very interesting surprises. And nearly all bitter herbs have traditionally been praised for generations as great healers.
Often bitter food substances and herbs are viewed as harsh tasting on their own, even beloved spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cocoa, but a talented chef can mix bitter herbs with sweet, sour, and other flavors of cuisine ingredients, to produce a remarkable and memorable dining experience.
Bitterness has nearly vanished from the contemporary cuisine scene. Sweet, sour, vinegary, spicy, savory, salty, peppery, hot, tart, smokey, tangy, bland, fruity, beefy, fishy, minty, milky, malty, and other palate sensations and flavors have risen to dominance, leaving bitterness far behind.
How do bitter herbs benefit us?
They can be anti-inflammatory, improve digestion, facilitate detoxification, improve skin, reduces stress, enhance mineral absorption, remedy gout, calm the mind, bring down fevers, assist with rheumatism, regulate blood sugar, improve mood, strengthen the liver, aid weight loss, boost the immune system, regulate respiratory functions, help bowel movements, and decrease food sensitivities and allergies.
Plants that are bitter like kratom:
Coffee
Hops
Cocoa
Valerian
Nutmeg
Cinnamon
Gentian
Wormwood
Dandelion
Milk Thistle
Goldenseal
Mugwort
Angelica
Rue
Peppermint
Horehound
Chicory
Coriander
Edive
Sorrel
Wild Lettuce
Tansy
Centaury
Chincona
So the next time you taste the bitterness of kratom, remember all its cousins in botany who share a similar bitterness, yet they all make up for their disagreeable taste with health benefits that are significant and not easy to duplicate by Big Pharma in a laboratory.
