I remember learning in school that taste buds can sense sweet, salty, sour, and bitter flavors, and that the sense of smell is responsible for almost everything else we taste. That was always hard to believe, until I experienced it myself. When Covid took my sense of smell, suddenly all the aromatics in food and drink disappeared. Tea tasted like water. Coffee tasted like bitter water. Most food was almost tasteless unless there was a lot of salt and/or sugar in it. And I was surprised to find that sweet and salty–so tasty in combination with other flavors–weren’t so great by themselves.
The loss of the sense of smell is called anosmia. Most people who get anosmia from Covid recover their sense of smell within a few weeks or months. Mine seems to be coming back, but inconsistently. I hope it will return in full soon. Food and drink are joyless without it.
My friend who lost hers permanently said that it was so hard. Things that she used to love, like peanut butter, were gross when you just had texture to go by. I’m hoping yours is returning a little more each day!