Bitter (tikta)

In Ayurveda, bitter taste, known as tikta rasa, is light, dry, and cooling, balances pitta and kapha doshas, and is valued for its cleansing and medicinal properties in digestion, metabolism, and detoxification. These qualities make it hard to taste initially but powerful in promoting balance and cleansing internally.

Bitter herbs and foods are best consumed after sweet, sour, salty, and pungent tastes and in small amounts to avoid depletion of tissues and vata aggravation. Bitter herbs stimulate digestion and clear channels by drying excess fluids. They detoxify by increasing bile flow and liver function and have a cooling action. They clear pitta and kapha but increase vata, and excess use causes weakness.