Flavor Tripping Parties

Image credit: Marissa Beck

The miracle fruit, or miracle berry (Synsepalum dulcificum) has seen a surge in popularity over the past few years, and DC is determined not to be left out of the loop.  The concept is, you take one of these berries, swill it around in your mouth for a few minutes, and suddenly, your taste buds are transformed!  Your palette is turned upside down, inside out, and upside down and inside out again!

Which at least, adequately describes Jen’s experience with the Flavor Trip DC party we attended.

We weren’t quite sure what to expect when we got to EFN Lounge for the party, other than I had reserved two tickets for us in advance and we were absolutely ravenous.  Despite a large majority of attendees holding tickets, there was still a fairly long line outside, which wouldn’t have been so bad had it not been so damn cold outside.  We stood patiently in line for about 20 minutes before being let in.  Once inside, the mayhem and din of the crowd was almost overwhelming.  After figuring out to pick up our berries in the back of the place, we followed the instructions given with every berry.  You place the frozen berry on your tongue, and let it sit there for two to three minutes.  You can swallow the pulp, but absolutely must spit out the pit.  A few minutes of holding what tasted like a large pomegranate seed in our mouths, and we moved over into the flavor tripping buffet line.  A large assortment of flavor trip foods were set out for us…sour candies, grapes, lemons, limes, blueberries, pineapples, kiwis, and olives…and then some stranger additions, like soy sauce. Vinegar.  Tabasco sauce.

Jen and I shuffled along with the crowds, trying each food, hoping to trip our tongues off, and, unfortunately, to very little effect.  Jen didn’t taste a single thing differently, especially after taking a large bite out of a delicious slice of lime.  I managed to do slightly better, tasting whole quarters of lemons and limes as tart, sweet citruses, and the vinegar had a sweet and tangy taste to it.  Other than that?  The Kiwi tasted like kiwi. The soy sauce tasted like soy sauce.  The snozzberries tasted like snozzberries.

Boo urns.

I talked to several other people in line, who had similar comments.  There were lots of people who could taste one or two different things differently, but for the most part, everything tasted the same.  Tabasco definitely did NOT taste like donut glaze.  No goat cheese in sight, but I’m sure it wouldn’t have tasted anything like cheesecake.

So maybe this whole thing is a total rip off.  Jen and I were convinced it was a scam, especially with the offers to buy “flavor trip pills” that supposedly enhanced the flavors for those (see also: Jen and me) who weren’t getting enough out of the experience, or just wanted to be bilked a few more dollars.  Deflated, we left the party, in search of better things to fill ourselves with. The worst part of the whole experience was, without a doubt, the aftermath.  I don’t think anyone really had the foresight to consider what eating what amounted to a half a stomach full of lemons, limes, sour candies, and vinegar really does to your stomach, no matter what it tastes like.  Make sure you give yourself a healthy dose of peptol bismol or bread to soak up the acids in advance.

In the end, I’d say you’d be better off skipping the party, and buying some of these on your own, in the comfort of your own home, to see if you can get better results.  Maybe you’ll actually get some real miracle berries, too.

Flavor Trip DC is held on the 2nd Friday of every month at EFN Lounge in DC, or you can buy the berry/pill online.

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