I began using this analogy after my brother spent years not eating anything sweet, and then found that chocolate below 90% cacao was overwhelmingly too sweet.
Lower the noise floor on taste and suddenly all kinds of subtle notes emerge.
Some fad diets like the "potato diet" are based on this principle, that if you reset your tasetbuds then foods with added sugar will taste too sweet, and you'll avoid them.
I experienced this with the Keto diet, which is low-carb and hence very low on sweeteners like sugar. It was about a year afterwards that I could eat normal chocolate, candy, or cake.
Same with coffee or tea. After a decade of drinking them without sugar or honey, I can't imagine drinking them any other way. Sugar would just ruin their taste.
Anyone that cries "I can't drink coffee black, it's too bitter!" they just haven't tried for more than a week, how long it takes to adjust.
Unless you drink instant coffee, which tastes very bitter and like battery acid. I'd rather have water than granulated instant coffee.
FWIW, people who say that are usually drinking burnt coffee that has sat on a heater for too long. Sugar doesn't take bitterness away; a tiny sprinkle of salt, however, does.
Really.
Some salt is absolutely crucial to flavor. A little bit makes almost everything taste better.
