Taste and Aroma
If eaten whole, bay leaves are pungent and have a sharp, bitter taste. As with many spices and flavorings, the fragrance of the bay leaf is more noticeable than its taste. When dried, the fragrance is herbal, slightly floral, and somewhat similar to oregano and thyme. Myrcene, which is a component of many essential oils used in perfumery, can be extracted from the bay leaf. They also contain the essential oil eugenol.
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—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)
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Seeing, hearing, feeling, are miracles, and each part and tag of me
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—Walt Whitman (1819–1892)