system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Why does hot water taste different than cold water?
gpt
So cells in our taste buds express receptors that recognize different types of compounds - one receptor type per cell seems to be how it works. However, in addition to these receptors, gustatory cells also contain channels that are sensitive to heat, and they sensitize the cell to other inputs. What this means is that most flavors seem to be more intense when they're warmer (unless of course they reach the threshold of pain, in which case our brain is more preoccupied with that than communicating the taste). This is why warm coke tastes sweeter than cold coke, etc.