The astringent taste is perhaps the most difficult to describe. Astringent foods are drying. Their consumption can therefore result in an elevation of the air element and, to a lesser extent, the earth element. Astringent foods are light, cold, and dry and are hence similar to pungent foods except that they are cold where the spicy foods are hot. So, though both act on air, pungent foods are more catabolic whereas astringent ones are slightly anabolic. The dryness of this taste reduces water whereas its coldness reduces fire. The astringent taste is due to the presence of tannins, usually found in the bark of trees.

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