Bitter

Bitterness is the flavour that takes the longest to love. Children reject it; cultivated palates seek it out. The dark chocolate that sharpens the caramel. The radicchio that wakes the whole salad. The aperitivo that opens the palate before the meal begins. Bitterness is not failure — it is contrast applied with intention, the flavour that makes everything around it more vivid. A Bitter Year works the same way.

Bitter Years do not yield their gifts to the casual or the impatient. Those who expect easy reward will turn away. Those who bring discernment and patience will find a complexity that sweeter years cannot offer. This is a year that rewards analysis and favours the clear-eyed over the credulous.

Bitter’s shadow is coldness. There is a fine line between discernment and detachment. The Bitter Year asks you to develop your palate — not to close yourself off entirely.