Taste buds. Coloured light micrograph of a section through the tongue, showing taste buds (yellow). The taste buds are within the papillae (projections) located on the surface of the tongue. Taste buds are mostly found on the tongue but are also scattered on the palate, pharynx and epiglottis. They are situated in an epithelial layer (red) and have a taste pore that is exposed to the food meeting the tongue. Five types of taste are recognised (as of 2008): sweet, bitter, acid, salt and umami. Although each taste is recognised on a different region of the tongue, the buds have the same structure throughout.