Day 8: Taste
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Time to read 4 min
Taste as a Pathway to Pleasure
Taste is one of our most immediate and evocative senses, capable of transporting us, awakening memories, and grounding us in the present. Exploring taste as a pleasure practice invites you to slow down and savor life’s richness—one bite at a time. Whether enjoying a meal alone or sharing it with someone special, truly tasting can deepen intimacy, cultivate self-awareness, and spark joy.
Today’s theme encourages you to fully embrace this sensory experience, transforming an everyday act into a powerful moment of connection with yourself or others.
Ready to dive in? Try this simple daily challenge to build more intimacy and connection.
Day 8 Challenge:
Mindfully eat or drink something you love. It could be a single, glistening oyster, like Amanda describes below, or a warm, fragrant cup of tea. Whatever you choose, give it your full attention.
Savor each flavor, texture, and sensation. Pause to notice how this moment feels in your body. Reflect on how slowing down and truly indulging enhances your sense of pleasure, presence, and connection.
Why Taste Matters
Taste is more than just a sense—it’s a gateway to self-discovery and connection. When we consciously engage with taste, we unlock the power to create joy and pleasure from within. Amanda Veitia, a writer, storyteller, dining and hospitality expert, beautifully captures this in her ode to oysters and stroganoff:
"It’s in these small, uninhibited moments of nonsexual pleasure, I am rejuvenated. I discover more about who I am and what makes me happy."
Food isn’t just nourishment; it’s an opportunity for delight and a chance to express love for yourself and others. By prioritizing taste as a practice, you invite mindfulness, curiosity, and joy into your daily life.
Amanda encourages us to explore new flavors, savor old favorites, and embrace the simple pleasure of a well-made meal: "Self-care stems from self-love. If you’re feeding yourself something out of passion, and not out of necessity, I promise that is genuine self-love."
How to Practice Sensory Awareness: Taste
Solo Exploration - Treat yourself to a meal at a new restaurant. Savor every detail, from the ambiance to the first bite, and enjoy the unique experience of dining alone.
With a Partner - Cook a dish together, taking turns tasting and adjusting the flavors. Let the collaborative process bring you closer and spark connection.
At Home - Prepare a simple snack, like fruit or chocolate, and eat it slowly. Focus on the taste, texture, and the sensations it creates in your body. Notice how it makes you feel.
Why It Works
Mindfully engaging with taste grounds us in the present moment, enhancing our capacity to experience pleasure. Research shows that practices like savoring can boost emotional well-being and deepen our connection to ourselves and others. As Amanda eloquently puts it: "The benefits of wanting, not needing, to create your own joy are pure and indelible."
The Takeaway
Taste is a powerful tool for cultivating pleasure, connection, and self-awareness. When you take the time to truly savor your food and drink, you’re not just nourishing your body—you’re feeding your soul.
How will you let your sense of taste bring you joy today? Share your reflections with us on Instagram, and let’s create a symphony of connection, joy, and pleasure together.
Intimate Insights: An Essay by Amanda Veitia
At Old Ebbitt Grill, vintage nostalgia is the assignment and the massive multi-room Washington DC icon is packed to the edges of its mahogany trim night after night. It’s loud, warm, and feels like the ultimate dinner party salon, even if you’re a party of one.
The menu is vast and diverse, serving everything from chicken wings, to pricey ribeyes to homemade pastas. They’re widely loved for their oysters, the main reason I ventured to a new restaurant, instead of my tried and true favorite. The hype was spot on. They were plump and buoyant and glistened like a divine treasure of the sea. It took work to savor each of the 3 I ordered, I can’t lie. It would have been all too easy to swallow them in under 2 minutes. But instead I paused to dress each of the shining pearls with a squeeze of lemon, a dab of horseradish infused cocktail sauce, and a drizzle of shallot-y vinegar. I let them linger on my tongue before letting them slide down my throat like silk.
Have you ever caught the eye of an extremely attractive person from across the room, and the thought of them seeing you and wanting you sends a sharp thrill to your insides? That’s what eating a perfect oyster tastes like. It tastes like a passionate want, leaving you hungry for more.
My dining expedition didn’t end there, I could not resist the siren calling of the short rib stroganoff. A classic dish upgraded by the voluptuous presence of braised melt-in-your-mouth-tender short ribs. The noodles, handmade. The sauce, lusciously smooth, laden with dijon and mushroom umami. Each bite slicked my lips with the unctuous musings of gluttony. It tasted like an incredible one night stand. All of the delectable commotion with none of the emotional unsavory entanglements.
And it’s in these small, uninhibited moments of nonsexual pleasure, I am rejuvenated. I discover more about who I am and what makes me happy. The benefits of wanting, not needing, to create your own joy are pure and indelible. And while I have other hobbies, my best source of self-pleasure is taking myself out for a meal.
Finding restaurants has become more of a steady hobby for me, weekly reading restaurant lists or following IG accounts like Thrillist, Infatuation or Eater. There’s always new info coming my way and I’m always doing a deep dive, let me see who your last girlfriend was, kind of investigation. Things that really stand out to me are a welcoming aesthetic for a singular diner, preferably a large bar and a diverse menu with new takes on dishes I love. Try somewhere new, go back to a place that gives you comfort and try a new dish, the choice is yours and I welcome you to take this year to fall deeper in love with yourself and find that figurative meal you can’t stop thinking about.
Self-care stems from self-love. If you’re feeding yourself something out of passion, and not out of necessity, I promise that is genuine self-love. Without it, you probably wouldn’t look back on a singular meal you had one night, months ago, like reminiscing on an old lover. Especially if it’s something as antiquated as a stroganoff.