A good soup has to balance all the flavors, with none of them too strong.
Tips
culture
In Chinese thought the five flavors line up with the 五行 'Five Phases': sour with wood, bitter with fire, sweet with earth, pungent with metal and salty with water. In everyday speech they are 酸, 甜, 苦, 辣 and 咸, with spicy in place of pungent.
usage
Taste stands for experience: 五味杂陈 'all five flavors mixed together' means having mixed feelings.
