Flavor is Sight

First, we deal with the semantics of the Chinese lexicon, liang (亮), according to CWN. As shown in Figure 4.1, liang serves as an intransitive verb in Taiwan Mandarin, obtaining 19 senses (each note stands for one sense, and a sense can be gathered by a sense cluster). In total, three senses have perceptual contexts, namely, the sense stimulated by a light color

with high brightness, the sense stimulated by a good-looking appearance, and the sense stimulated by a clear sound and a good timbre. If applied in perceptual contexts, the Chinese modifier liang is supposed to be situated in the perceptual modality of either SIGHT or SOUND. However, this word is utilized in both smell and taste contexts. As evident in example (4.1), liang acts as a property indicator to modify the quality of the floral smell. This word, which is originally used for describing brightness experienced by sight, has nothing to do with brightness in example (4.1). According to the context of coffee tasting, the perceived brightness describes the sudden intensity of the floral scent detected in the taster’s nasal and oral capacities that disappears briskly into a pleasant lingering sensation. In other words, the pleasure arises from “smelling light” (FLORAL SMELL IS LIGHT).

FLORAL SMELL IS LIGHT: (4.1)

在Americano 部分它有明亮的花香，在後來的時候它就會有一點點橡膠

或是膠水的味道。

The Americano has a bright floral aroma, and then later there is a bit of the flavor of rubber or glue.

Although the word is originally used to describe brightness experienced by sight, it has been mapped to depict a delightful quality of smell. The floral smell accompanied by “brightness”

“turns on the lights” of the tasters’ taste buds.

As Paradis and Eeg-Olofsson (2013) suggested, in wine reviews, the synesthetic metaphor of ACIDITY IS LIGHT is most frequently used to describe the flavor of white wine. In our coffee cupping data, this synesthetic metaphor is utilized in several examples. Firstly, this synesthetic metaphor directly denotes the intensity of acidity, along with indescribable

feelings of brightness. Consider examples (4.2) to (4.4).

ACIDITY IS LIGHT: (4.2)

Espresso 部分，入口的酸味是很明亮，有刺激性，過後是澀感 比較強烈。

In tasting the espresso, the acidity in the beginning is very bright, with pungency; afterwards, the astringency becomes stronger.

(4.3)

喝起來的感覺呢，第一杯espresso 有點刺酸，就是那個酸度

是非常明亮的。

In drinking the espresso, the first cup is a bit stingily sour, which means that the acidity is very bright.

(4.4)

Espresso 的淺焙呢，是刺舌的、很酸，有藥水的味道，然後 它的酸是明亮的酸。

The light-roast espresso is very stingy, very sour, with the flavor of liquid medicine. Then, its acidity is bright.

In the examples shown above, the brightness of acidity is associated with pungent, stingy, or uncomfortable feelings. We can relate these negative feelings to the intensity of a sour taste. In a more abstract domain, mapping the brightness experienced by sight to the acidity experienced by taste is in fact emotionally driven.

To be more precise, the negative feelings are those evoked when one is faced with the brightness of a harsh light.

Apart from being similar to the tasting of an intense sourness, tasting the “bright”

acidity also results in indescribable happiness and positive feelings. The feeling of happiness can be found in the following examples (4.5) to (4.8).

(4.5)

在ESPRESSO 部分，第一杯我們會覺得它就是，非常亮的酸，柑橘的酸，

那其他的味道就沒有那麼的明顯。

In tasting the espresso, we feel that the flavor involves a very bright acidity, the acidity of tangerines, while other flavors are not so obvious.

(4.6)

喝下去的風味，一開始會覺得有燒焦味，它有一點點莓果的亮酸。而口 感上是比較清淡的。

The flavor during drinking is the feeling of a burned flavor at first. It has a bit of the bright acidity of berries, and the mouthfeel is comparably light.

(4.7)

酸值是亮的、紅茶的味道，然後酸值是甘甜的檸檬酸。

Its acidity is bright with the flavor of black tea, and its acidity is the sweet acidity of lemon.

(4.8)

在口感的部份，我們認為前段是明亮的柚子酸，然後尾段的部分有焦糖。

In sensing the mouthfeel, we think that it has the bright acidity of a pomelo in the beginning, and then there is a caramel flavor near the end.

Apart from the modifiers, the verbs denoting motions or events can be correspondent to several perceptual associations, which are not constant and stable. One of the reasons may be that the motion verbs do not contain the consequent situations. In the motion descriptions of flavor, three crossmodal metaphors are found in total. In example (4.9), the acidity can

perceptual scale, that is, the scale of SIGHT.

(4.9)

酸味本身，緬甸這支的酸味就會比，越南的酸味要明顯，所以它在 espresso 的部分就放得更亮。

As to the acidity of the Burmese coffee itself, it is more obvious than the acidity in the Vietnamese coffee, so in espresso form, the acidity is brightened up.

As example (4.10) shows, it is easy for the audience to associate the flavor with sight since they visualize the “blossoming” of the flourishing flower. This image-association, however, is triggered by the most dominant human ability, visual thinking, and is also a process of comprehension via image transfer. As long as the audience adopts a visual perspective in their motion descriptions or event depictions, they can view any expression as related to sight.

In other words, besides image association in the two examples, there is no direct cue connecting the sense of sight to the target sense, taste.

(4.10)

第一支在加水的時候，一開始有一個比較明亮的酸味綻放，但是之後的 苦味蠻重的，所以在之後比較感覺不到酸味，但是組員是蠻喜歡那一開 始的明亮度。

The first one, when combined with water, has a blossoming bright acidity at first, but afterwards the bitterness intensifies, so we don’t feel the acidity later, yet some members like the brightness that appears in the beginning of the tasting.

To put it another way, the verb “brighten up” (提亮) already points out the consequence of the event, i.e., become brighter. The consequent sight perception of brightness in the

linguistic expression is axiomatic.

SWEETNESS IS LIGHT:

(4.11)

加糖之後呢，他的酸可以提亮整個糖的甜味，不會讓那個甜感覺很死。

After adding sugar, its acidity can brighten up the sweetness of the sugar, making it not so sweet and unctuous.

Therefore, by directly promoting the brightness of the target entities (e.g., in example (4.11), the sweetness is brightened up), the implication of taste possessing the property of sight is obviously clear. Thus, the property of taste is replaced by the property of sight to not only modify the perceptual phenomenon of taste, but also widen the audience’s comprehension of the target domain.