This page contains all the
readers’ comments on the “Colour-smell synesthesia" and "Colour-taste synesthesia” pages, received between
2023 and 2026.
Comment by: Anonymous. May 16, 2023 at 5:52 PM
I paint, when I get the image of the sea I can smell it
Comment by: Anonymous. December 15, 2023 at 4:35 AM
pride flags have a sorta "taste" for me
for example the mlm flag tastes like fruit roll ups
genderfluid flag tastes like berries
trans flag tastes like cotton candy
non binary (which is what i am) tastes like bananas
but by taste i mean like a minds eye but for my tongue, like
a minds tongue
and its also pretty faint
Reply by: Pau (The Synesthesia Tree author). December 25,
2023 at 10:57 AM
Yes, what you describe here is consistent with synesthesia,
but probably better described on the page on Concept-taste
(https://www.thesynesthesiatree.com/2021/02/concept-taste-and-concept-smell.html)
than Colour-taste, if your taste reactions are specific to the series of pride
flags and not just colours or colour combinations in general. It's very
interesting what you describe. Obviously a strong, literal consistent taste in
your mouth for the different elements in the series would be a very clear synesthesia,
but even if the tastes are only faintly perceived or you only get them
sometimes (as long as they're consistent: same element in the series, same
taste perception), it would still be considered synesthesia.
Comment by: Anonymous. January 22, 2024 at 8:16 PM
I always thought this was a normal occurrence until I
referred to it in-front of my family. They didn't know what I was talking
about! This made me look things up and what is described is exactly what I
experience. For me it specifically happens when colors are deeply saturated and
vibrant. Most commonly this is when I take a saved photo on my device and I
saturate the colors, increase the contrast (not too much), increase the
brilliance, and turn up the sharpness. When it happens, I smell something I haven't
smelled by an actual substance. There isn't a great way I can describe the
smell but Its not a smell you can follow the source to. Think of it like this:
You are walking down an outdoor shopping mall and a
restaurant is making delicious food. You smell the scent of the food in the air
and as you get closer to the restaurant, it floods your senses more and more.
This is how normal scent works and operates.
With synesthesia its a constant smell. As long as you see
the colors, you begin to smell. Its intensity doesnt change as you get closer
or farther, its just always there.
The smell I smell is both intense and subtle. I want to say
its metalic like, but its softer than that, but also harsher at the same time.
Reply by: Pau (The Synesthesia Tree author). January 22,
2024 at 8:46 PM
Interesting! Thanks for commenting!
Comment by: Anonymous. February 10, 2024 at 6:51 PM
Hi, I can taste both objects and colors and I'm not really
sure what that means.
The things that I taste are usually very specific. For
example, there is one type of green grass that is my absolute favorite, and one
singular telephone pole that has just the right texture in which I can taste
the flavor I'm searching for. The pole has a rich, artificial, chocolate taste
to it with a rough-ish texture.
Does anyone know what that is?
Comment by: Anonymous. October 24, 2024 at 5:32 PM
Chemistry should expand in synesthesia
Comment by: Anonymous. August 5, 2025 at 7:16 AM
I never realized that this was a 'thing'.
I have tasted colours my whole life, but knew I was the only
one in my circle. The taste of colours are not directly translatable to that
they 'traditionally' taste like (like red is sweet and yellow is sour).
I am curious though; how does a dark, rich, almost black
green tast to others?
To me it tasts like a fresh, slightly salty liquorice.
Comment by: Anonymous. September 27, 2025 at 7:59 PM
This is exciting to come across for me. I remember playing a video game when I was probably 5-6 years old and telling my siblings, "I don't like the smell of purple". There was a particular level in the game that had a certain deep purple hue. I avoided that level or got through it as fast as I could because the smell was so intense. Sounds funny and my siblings just looked at me weird when I mentioned it, so I never brought it up again, but here and there I come across the same smell, always associated with the same deep purple color. I never have liked purple much because of it. Same thing as what the previous comment describes, I can't trace the smell to anywhere in particular, it's just there no matter how you turn your head or how close or far away you are. It's just there when I 'see' it and it's not a smell that I have ever come across or associated with any other 'thing' than with that particular hue of purple.
Comment by: Anonymous. October 16, 2025 at 1:57 AM
I have this! It doesn't happen all the time, thank goodness.
It's only when im very focused on something and staring at a certain color for
a while. (Happens often when Im weaving with colored yarn) I think my mind has
to be relaxed. It happens most often with reds and oranges and the things I
"taste" are usually fruits. I've never tried to intentionally make it
happen, I'm not even sure if I could.
Comment by: Anonymous. December 23, 2025 at 1:43 PM
For some reason I smell self raising flour as the colour
green
Comment by: Anonymous. January 5, 2026 at 5:11 AM
For me, this is associated mainly with perfumes...
I have a lots of different perfumes and they associate
strongly with colour to me, regardless of their packaging. Some smell yellow,
some smell red, some smell blue.
And I can never even consider wearing a 'red scent' with
blue clothing, for example... it would just be wrong!
Reply by Pau (The Synesthesia Tree author). January 5,
2026 at 8:49 PM
I like this a lot as I love all perfume-related synesthesia. I find it weird when a perfume's colour is radically different from its packaging colour. Combining your clothes and your perfume is certainly an interesting perspective!
Comment by: Anonymous. January 19, 2026 at 9:25 AM
I always assumed this was something everyone has? Until I
seen someone mention the colour-words thing.
For me it’s kind of like um, greens are kind of chalky? The
darker the colour the chalkier it gets, and there’s a really subtle flavour, I
don’t know what it is but it’s there? And white is kind of citrusy but if it
were crunchy. Some colours are thick and have a hops type of smell, very
unpleasant, enough to make me pull a face like I just put earwax in my mouth or
something. Yellows are fizzy, kind of spiky, slightly bitter… blues are Smokey
but creamy. I wouldn’t say any colour tastes like a fruit though, it’s more
like.. descriptive instead of.. apple or peach. Like a mouth feel but there’s a
flavour in it..?
Comment by: Anonymous. February 15, 2026 at 11:19 PM
I thought I was, like, a freak of nature when I was younger
because I would see a colour and go “Oh! Hey that tastes like this!” And people
would look at me like I was crazy. I lived almost two decades suffering with
that before I got into Fallout Boy. I was listening to an interview with
Patrick Stump, and he was mentioning synesthesia. I thought “oh that seems
cool, I’ll use that as my medical essay.” Then I started researching and
realised that I have it, or at least something similar to it. I don’t smell
anything, but sometimes the flavour, I don’t know, feels like it’s saturating
my nasal passages.
Comment by: Anonymous. January 15, 2026 at 12:21 AM
I had surgery a few years ago and every since then at times
I will be watching tv and be able to smell a cigarette being lit or certain
food being cooked on tv. It sounds crazy but it’s true.
Go back to the page on colour-smell/colour-taste synesthesia
This page last updated: 18 May 2026
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