Sunday, August 09, 2009

Flavor Tripping – a Giveaway!

A couple of weeks ago I went to a Flavor Tripping Party hosted by The Berry Fairy. I had so much fun that I want to offer you the same experience.

Here’s the scoop (reposted from the Berry Fairy site).

What is a Flavor Tripping Party?

Flavor Tripping parties are the latest craze in NY and SF and offer willy wonka-esque taste-altering experiences for your tastebuds. Party-goers get a fresh miracle berry and then help themselves to a bacchanalian banquet of food and naughty beverages. The miracle berry affects everyone differently and the effects can last from 30 minutes to 2 hours. This is what some flavor-trippers are saying:

- citrus fruits like lemons and limes taste sweet
- oranges and grapefruits tasted dipped in sugar
- goat cheese tastes like frosting
- vinegar is smooth enough to drink
- cheap tequila tastes like top shelf
- bologna sandwiches taste like cheesecake
- stout beers taste like chocolate milkshakes

Miracle berries are only good for 2-3 days after they are picked and so they are very rare, expensive, and hard to obtain.

What is a Miracle Berry?



Miracle berries, also known as miracle fruit or Synsepalum dulcificum are fresh plants indigenous to West Africa. The fruit when consumed have an extraordinary affect on your tastebuds. Scientists say a protein in the fruit works by binding to taste buds and altering the tongue's so-called sweet receptors to activate when sour foods are eaten. The "miracle" is everything sour and bitter will taste sweet temporarily.

Lemons taste like lemonade, Guiness beer tastes like chocolate milk, rhubarb tastes like sugar cane!

Miracle Berry plants can only grow in parts of Africa, Asia, and Florida. They take four years from seed to bear fruit. The berries are also highly perishable and must be eaten within 2-3 days once picked. For diabetics, it could be turned into a sugar-free additive. For cancer patients, it could eliminate the post-chemotherapy metallic taste in their mouths and make food taste more palatable. All of these factors including
recent press by the New York Times make this berry almost a "miracle" to obtain.

The party in Austin was very well attended and everyone had a blast, even though it was held outside and like a bazillion degrees.




So obviously I cannot provide you with a fresh Miracle Berry. However, at the Flavor Tripping Party there was a table set up selling mberry tablets. I bought a packet of 10.

What are mberries? (taken from the mberries site)
Our tablets contain ONLY freeze dried granules of Miracle Berry fruit and cornstarch (to maintain the tablet shape). In this form, the tablets can last over a year with little to no degradation (when not frozen or cooked!) and the price per miracle berry experience is much more affordable than with the fresh berries.

Who uses Miracle Berries?
· Dieters
· Diabetics
· Curious and Adventurous Eaters
· People at Parties!
Instructions:
First, gently rinse your mouth with water be sure you have a clean tongue.
Please Note: Smoking directly before or after, may negatively affect the sensitivity of your tongue.
The effect of Miracle fruit is made possible ONLY by contact with the tongue, not through digestion.
For this reason, tablets must be allowed to dissolve completely on the tongue.
The most pronounced effect can be achieved by coating the entire tongue in a paste of Miracle fruit for up to 30 seconds.
If you wish to end the experience early, simple drink some hot liquid (tea, etc.) and much of the miraculin should quickly wash off your tongue.

About my experience: While I was at the party, someone at my table said, Hey, what if they sweetened everything before we got here? She was really joking. We could tell the food had not been sugared and the taste was not really sugary. It’s difficult to describe, but I’ll try. Lemons and limes retain their flavor but you can actually take a big bite without puckering. Raw rhubarb, sundried tomatoes, and tomatillos were the most delicious flavor experience of the evening. Hot sauce, jalapenos, sriracha, and mustard were very flavorful and not the least bit hot. I heard later some folks overdid tasting the spicy stuff! And foods that are naturally sweet, and even the hummus I tried, well, their flavor is just enhanced. It really was a trip!
Here’s my plate of the vegan offerings provided.

Last night I finally tried the mberry tablet. With my mom! I needed a newbie to validate that the berry tablets really are miraculous. My mom will be 73 on Friday. She was a little nervous about flavor tripping, but what a cool mom, huh? I brought some samples and asked her to prep them for us.


We had not-so-ripe strawberries, lemons, key limes, tomatoes, and tomatillos. We tried lemons first – my mom loves lemons. Her eyes got big and she couldn’t believe what she was tasting – pure lemon flavor without the sour bite. I was so happy that my food at the party hadn’t been spiked with sugar and that the tablets I bought really work! All of our samples were so flavorful. And my mom had fun. I asked her how she was going to describe her flavor trip to her friends and she said she didn’t know if she could. Then we rinsed and ate our dinner. I realized after dinner that I forgot to test dark chocolate!

So are you feeling adventurous? Are you restricting your sugar intake and want a sweet treat without the sucrose? (Ricki?) Do you just want to have a flavor trippin’ good time? If so, leave me a comment. Maybe you could tell me what foods you would like to trip on. In two weeks, I will randomly select THREE commenters and you will win a PAIR of mberry tablets so you can share your flavor trip adventure. Good luck!

51 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Oh my, sounds heavenly!! I'd surely like to have a flavor trippin' good time!! :-D

Andrea said...

This is definitely one of the weirder food experiences I've heard about. I wonder if I would like foods I normally detest, like anise. And what would a beet taste like?

chocolate covered katie said...

My sister told me about those parties. They sound hilarious!

Unknown said...

I'd love to try that! I'm curious what it would do to bitter things.

bazu said...

ok- this is too weird not to want to try! *crosses fingers*

vegtastic said...

I have wanted to try these for a while!!! I have friends in NYC that have been to tripping parties and have loved it.

Amey said...

oh my god diann!!!!
I TOTALLY want to try these!! I've heard about these miracle berries off and on for a couple years now and have been dying to try them out. I'm most excited about the citrus, because I love lemon & lime flavors, but I'm not a big sour freak. What fun. I hope I win!

thanks for such a great post and such a neat-o giveaway!
:)

ps. super cool that your mom tried it with you! :)

Vicki's Vegan Vice said...

I'm completely fascinated!! I want to trip on LEMON!

Jenn said...

That sounds so interesting! I would love to try it. I want to see what an umeboshi plum would taste like.
I must be missing the rage in NYC because I've never heard of this. I really need to get out more...

What an great find. The use for cancer patients would be really amazing. Both my Dad and my aunt had a lot of trouble eating even though they were hungry. Everyone telling them they should eat didn't help matters either. Something that tricks your taste buds would be wonderful.

Unknown said...

how interesting!!! i've heard of these berries and it sounds so cool to have it alter the tasta!

Hannah said...

These flavor-tripping parties sound so awesome, I would love to try this craziness out myself! I would try absolutely everything possible, but I'm most curious about what a plain lemon would taste like.

Catherine Weber said...

Wow! I've never heard of such a thing, but what an experience! I think my boyfriend would get a huge kick out of this, too.

I'm definitely curious about lemons and limes -- I love the flavor, but sometimes they are too sour for me.

Jen said...

I've been wanting to try miracle berries for some time now!

Gynx said...

Oh man, that sounds amazingly fun. I'd want to try it with totally random things. I've been on a sushi kick lately, so probably some sushi, but I'd definitely bust out some fruits. And liquor.

Ricki said...

Your mom is soooo cool! Flavor trippin'--like wow, man. Of course I'd have to try bitter chocolate (no sugar added, of course!). Then maybe lemons as well or even grapefruit. Sounds freaky-good!

Gaby said...

Wow, I've never heard of this! It sounds crazy! I'd love to try it, I wonder what wasabi would taste like? Or all the Indian food my mouth can't tolerate. I'd even be curious to drink super strong black espresso and add a caffeine high to the flavor trip :p

Grumblebee said...

I would love to try these tablets! Aside from the foods you tried (lemons, etc.) I think I would test out different pickled veggies and olives. Perhaps some feta cheese too. I bet feta would have a very interesting taste when you take away the briney/salty flavour...

Judy said...

Wow that is just too cool! I've never heard of it but I'd love to try. I would go with lemons and limes first - I love that flavour but hate the sourness.

Tami said...

Lemons. Limes. Anything really spicy. Beer. I keep thinking there is something in beer that I should like, but it's buried beneath stuff I don't. I'd like to see if it's true.

These really sound fascinating!

Thanks for such a cool giveaway. I'm sure the party was incredible.

Clea said...

I totally want to try this....with sweet potato fries!

Pistachio and Cardamom said...

omg i saw a video of a flavor tripping party on youtube and i've been dying to get my hands on one! i'd try peanut butter chocolate,and cough syrup. oh and durian might be phenomenal!

Unknown said...

I am usually one to be eager to try new things, but this makes me go "NO WAY!". I want to taste things as they are; my tastebuds don't need any E.

chris said...

sounds great! i'd like to try it with some of my chocolate habanero hot sauce.

Anonymous said...

I would really like to try bittermelon. I've always thought it was too bitter, but maybe this would make it more palatable!

Anonymous said...

How cool is that?! I would love to try really spicy foods I usually can't eat...or lemons--I love lemons!

Courtney

Sheree' said...

I saw these on TV and was very skeptical. Now I know it is true and I want to try them. I guess I would try spicy stuff and hmmm something sour, but not sure what. With DH being a sugaraholic, these might work wonders on him eating cooked broccoli. :o)

Charmaine said...

You need to check out if the restaurant where you are eating prepares some clean and deliciously made dishes to ensure your health. Also, the foods must be served fresh and nutritious.

Daniel said...

I've heard about the flavor tripping parties. I'd definitely like to try these!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Oh man, I have been hearing about these berries for ages & a friend got some for her birthday. I would LOVE to try them.
I would try lemons, of course. Maybe coffee? Unsweetened chocolate? What do they do to already sugary things?

urban vegan said...

Mberry.....mberry....mberry.

Amy said...

That is completely insane (in a completely wonderful way!!). I'd totally love to try flavour tripping, sadly I don't know that tablets would make it through customs :(

radioactivegan said...

Who wouldn't want to say "i'm high on flavor!"? I'd love to get a pair of these tablets :)

thanks for the opportunity

radioactivegan said...

Who wouldn't want to say "i'm high on flavor!"? I'd love to get a pair of these tablets :)

thanks for the opportunity

Drew's Adventures said...

How awesome is this. I have 2 kids that I want to try flavor tripping on. They are 4 and 2 and I would use it to get them to eat mango, kiwi and pineapple! How neat is this!

miss v said...

so interesting! i've never heard of it, but it sounds so cool. i'm always up for new experiences and tastes! thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

You're so hip, Diann - I'd never heard of this before. And how cool is your mother to be flavour tripping with you! I love that - and happy early birthday to her! I would love to try something like this - fun and crazy!

Anonymous said...

This is unbelievably cool! Thanks a lot for the opportunity and keep up the good blog.

By the way I am a fellow Texan.

Lisette said...

hahaha I would like to take a "trip" hehe :)

Oooh I'm a Texan too! :D

Lisa -- Cravin' Veggies said...

I would totally do a "trip buffet" like you did with your cool mom!!

Unknown said...

I would love to take a big bite out of a lime. And anything spicy, since I have a low tolerance for heat. Cool giveaway!

RachelBethany said...

I'd love to try it with carrots!

Erin said...

That's so cool that you got to try this out AND buy some berry tablets! How adventurous. If you're still taking entries I'd love to be included. I think I'd try citrus for sure, some hoppy beer, dark chocolate and maybe broccoli.

Anonymous said...

Ooh, I saw a program on these once and have wanted to try them ever since! I'd be boring and try them on sour citrus fruits, probably... just to get the maximum effect!

~ Kelly

Gina said...

Ooooh, I have heard about these!! Sounds so cool, I would LOVE to eat a lemon like that!

LE Correia said...

One of the few items on my mental To-Do-Before-Death list. Had no idea about the tablets!

I'd definitely be all over the citrus, but I simply must know what MBerries would do for a mouthful of wasabi.

Unknown said...

oh my, I think i'd like to try something like tahini or molasses, just weird things.

ikkinlala said...

I'd try coffee, purslane, underripe apples.

Michelle said...

i would love to try it w/ the oh so cottony persimmon! way cool!

Monique a.k.a. Mo said...

I know the contest is over, but I just have to say that this is the coolest/weirdest thing I have ever heard!

Still Life in South America said...

I have never heard of these tasting parties, but they sound so very Timothy Leary-esque.

Your mom sounds really cool for trying them.

MiracleFruitEnthusiast said...

Loved the miracle fruit truly was a great experience, i just got myself a few packs of Mberry Miracle Fruit Tablets after seeing the great potential it had at making even bitter flavour notes palatable!