Q: Why are cigars described with adjectives like "pepper", "citrus", "earth", etc. I never taste any of these things in any of the cigars I smoke!
A: The reason is simple, people use food terms and aromas to describe cigars because that is how we have learned to express the sensations on our palates. It is the flavors that we have had in our mouths in the past that serve as our frame of reference and provide the best way for an individual to verbally express the sensation they are experiencing from a cigar. Does that mean everyone eats dirt, flint, or leather? No, but most of us have had those flavors in our mouths or have smelled them in our lifetimes. Remember that scent and flavor are two intertwined by our sense. These non-tobacco terms are use to provide a common reference for all of us.
As for your not tasting any of these notes is not surprising, because many people do not. Remember that your sense of taste and smell may not be the same as the next persons. Some people simply have more acute palates than others and can identify individual flavors better than their peers. People's sense of smell and taste vary just as greatly as do people's eyesight, threshold for pain, or ability to hear. Most of us are within the same relative range palate-wise, but there are some with a very acute sense of taste and smell while there are others that have very dull palates. All that is important is for you to determine if you enjoy the flavor of what you are smoking regardless of what it may taste like to others.
- CigarNexus
