clairgustant

Clairgustant is a term used in parapsychology and esoteric literature to describe a person who claims to taste flavors that are not produced by ordinary gustation, via an alleged ability called clairgustance. A clairgustant is said to perceive tastes in response to stimuli such as thoughts, remote objects, or distant events, rather than through direct ingestion or contact with food.

Etymology-wise, the word combines clair-, meaning clear, with gustant from gustation, the sense of taste. The term appears primarily in discussions of extrasensory perception (ESP) and related phenomena, and is sometimes invoked to distinguish tasting experiences attributed to psychic input from conventional taste experiences.

Accounts of the phenomenon vary. Some clairgustants report tasting metallic, bitter, sweet, or otherwise distinct flavors that they associate with a location, person, or situation, despite no physical source of the taste being present. Others describe flavors that seemingly reflect information about a distant event. Descriptions are predominantly anecdotal, and explanations range from genuine subjective experiences to misattribution and expectancy effects.

Scientific evaluation remains cautious. No robust, replicable evidence supports clairgustance or the existence of clairgustants under controlled conditions. Critics highlight methodological flaws, placebo effects, and subjective interpretation, while proponents call for standardized protocols and larger-scale studies.

In cultural contexts, clairgustance appears mainly within parapsychology discussions and some new-age or occult circles, and it occasionally features in speculative fiction as a narrative device.

See also: clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience, gustation.