Sensitivity to bitter tastes is believed to be an evolutionary phenotype that arose through natural selection in order to prevent us from consuming toxic plants. However, it can cause a reaction to common foods such as sprouts, cabbage, broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, that contain bitter-tasting compounds called glucosinolates.

First noticed in 1931 by Arthur Fox, bitterness in food is easier to detect for some people than others. He discovered this when he and a colleague accidentally inhaled phenylthiocarbamide (PTC). His colleague remarked on its bitter taste, whereas he tasted nothing. This compound, along with the less toxic 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP), is currently used to induce the bitter taste response via a taste test strip in order to determine sensitivity.

Those who are deemed to be more sensitive to bitter tastes are known as a 'taster', whereas those that do not carry these variants and are less able to detect the bitterness are known as 'non-tasters'.