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Six flavour families, how they are built, and a few things about taste most people never think about.
Peppermint · spearmint · eucalyptus · menthol
The most common family. Peppermint is sharp and clean, spearmint softer and sweeter. Cooling agents add a fresh feeling without adding taste, which is why “ice” and “frost” blends feel colder than they taste.
Lemon · lime · grapefruit · orange · yuzu
Bright, light and quick to open up. Citrus oils fade faster than other aromas, so they are often paired with mint or berries to keep the taste going.
Blueberry · raspberry · strawberry · mango · watermelon
Rounder and sweeter. Dark berries give depth, tropical fruit gives juiciness. Most fruit aromas are blends of several compounds rather than a single “flavour”.
Vanilla · caramel · cola · candy
Warm, soft notes that round off sharper aromas. A little vanilla can make mint feel smoother; too much makes everything taste the same.
Liquorice · cinnamon · ginger · juniper · coffee
The classic Nordic profiles. Liquorice and juniper are dry and long-lasting, cinnamon and ginger warm. Often an acquired taste — and then a favourite.
Whisky · cocktails · tea · lemonade
Built from layers: a base note (wood, malt, tea), a fruit or citrus top note, and often a touch of sweetness to tie them together.
Natural aromas are extracted from plants or fruit. Nature-identical ones are the same molecules made another way. Both are food-grade; the difference is the source, not the safety.
Your tongue picks up sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami. Everything else — mint, berry, vanilla — reaches you through the nose. That is why aromas feel weaker when you have a cold.
Light molecules (citrus, some mint) release fast and fade fast. Heavier ones (vanilla, liquorice, wood) release slowly and stay. Good blends mix both.
Cooling agents trigger the cold receptors in your mouth, the same ones menthol uses, without a strong mint taste. That is how a fruit blend can feel icy.