Thread: What would emotions taste like?

If you could pick any smells, tastes, colors any other sensations to accompany emotional responses, what would you cast for which? Sky's the limit, so to speak. For the curious, this is not a question about synesthesia.

For example, lust might be fuchsia and taste like chocolate.

I'm looking especially for ideas on curiosity, lust, greed, ambition, hatred, pain, sadness, love, loneliness, desperation, longing, jealousy.

Odors already mentioned in the work are cat urine, rotten tomatoes, cigarette ash. Colors already mentioned are "sprays of pink and gold". What emotions would you associate with these?

I discussed this with my other half, who can see pain. We decided everyone's answers to your questions would be different and in that case you might as well figure out your own answers. If I told you I saw grief as yellow (for the record, I don't associate emotions with anything) you could just as likely say that was cuckoo, so why should I bother?

Because I'm looking for ideas. I can puzzle stuff out on my own, Ox, but sometimes it's nice to get other perspectives. I think of it like a word association game done with emotions instead. It's not research in terms of "this is this, that is that" and I'm not looking for concrete referenced responses.

The metallic taste of fear seems almost cliché, maybe it even is. Hate would be stale, like old sacking, affection like the downy outside of a peach.
You might get further going in the opposite direction, thinking of a strong taste and searching for an associated emotion.

love- sugary hatred- bile jealousy- bitter desperation- salty lust- whiskey greed- metallic

These were just off the top of my head.

PSFoster seems to have a knack for this kind of thing.

I'd say curiosity would just taste like your mouth right before you bite into something.
Ambition wouldn't be very filling right at first, but it would start to taste better towards the end, so maybe that last bite of a hot dog?
Lust would taste like the best thing in the world and would be addictive. Maybe something kind of salty or sweet?
Greed would be tasting something good and not thinking it's good enough, probably because you smoke too much cigarettes.
Hatred, pain, sadness, probably taste like vomit.
Love would taste similar to ambition but would have some secret ingredient that only released itself when you ate it like pop-rocks.
Loneliness, desperation, longing would taste like the last bite of a sandwich that was too small. Even the bite itself was.
Jealousy would be eating anything that wasn't cooked enough or something that went bad.

Cat urine - being lost and all alone and knowing something bad could happen at any second.
Rotten tomatoes - probably jealousy!
Cigarette ash - disappointment and mistakes
"Sprays of pink and gold" - being driven insane by boring people at a rich person's house.

excitement would be spicy--raging with flavors, almost too much to take.

sorrow would obviously bitter, but maybe also mild, bland, undesirable.

curiosity- smells like sunshine, tastes like wild berries and is the color of spring grass.
lust-smells like patchouli, tastes like creme brulee, and is a rich burnt amber
greed- smells like new car, tastes like leather, and is the color of aged parchment
ambition- smells like raw spinach, tastes like sweetarts, and is fushia pink
hatred- smells like gym socks, tastes like vomit, and is the color you get when you mix all the paints in your tray
pain- smells like daffodils, tastes like lemons, and is a pale yellow
sadness- smells like over-ripe fruit, tastes like wine, and is the color of fallen leaves
love- smells like sweat but not body odor, tastes like saliva, and is brick red
loneliness- smells like leftover chinese food, tastes like vinegar and is the color of swiss cheese
desperation- smells like dalias, tastes like tofu, and is a brilliant primary blue
longing- smells like the sea, tastes like pancakes with maple syrup, and is the color of your favorite pair of jeans
jealousy- smells like nail polish remover, tastes like raw potatoes, and is the color of moonlight

Wow. Neat combinations there

Any more takers for the cat piss and cigarettes?

sorrow would obviously bitter, but maybe also mild, bland, undesirable.

Reminds me of being a barman about forty five years ago "A mother in law please son", "Eh?", "That's a mild and bitter".

Sorry, return to topic.

Okay, here's my go:
curiosity, aqua blue ; any smell or flavor I can't identify
lust, deep/dark red - think victorian chaise red ; musky perfume ; chocolate
greed, green (US dollar green of course) ; the rough paper feel of a dollar bill ; taste of a copper penny ; watering mouth
ambition, yellow or gold ; taste of sweat ; smell of sweat
hatred, bright red or flame orange ; heat ; burning hair ; burnt food
pain, purple (like a bruise) ; taste of blood ; smell of rubbing alcohol or peroxide
sadness, medium blue with a gray base (like the reply to thread button) or that almost bluish gray of hospital walls ; hospital smell ; embalming/funeral smells ; sound of rain ; the smell of a recently extinguished house or brush fire.
love, pink (like a valentine or rose - cotton candy pink) ; taste of candy hearts ; smell & taste of chicken soup
loneliness, dark gray/charcoal gray ; smell of a hot desert in the middle of summer ; taste of any food I only tolerate ; frozen dinners ; cat urine
desperation, navy blue (I associate that with fear....like someone on the verge of drowning); taste of salt ; smell of sweat
longing, rose pink ; flowery perfume ; feel and smell of cotton (like a cotton ball...like a cloud)
jealousy, green (more yellow based/ sickly green) ; taste of vomit ;

cat urine, - frustration, disappointment, loneliness
rotten tomatoes, - embarrassment, stress
cigarette ash, - irritation, unclean
"sprays of pink and gold" - textured wallpaper