Black pepper definitely has a taste, like I can taste it on food and I add more when it's needed. Try tasting a steak and then add some pepper and see if you can't literally taste it, or even try it with bread or rice or anything really. Or have I just gone mad?

It may be that the zesty quality of pepper outpaces any taste. I’m curious to put it on something bland now to see if I can taste it, but my original comment was meant to convey that I might be blind to the actual taste of black pepper as a result of its cultural omnipresence.

It also loses some of its flavor - but keeps its bite - as it ages too much. Particularly after grinding. Try it with freshly purchased, fresh ground.

I personally can’t taste black pepper, although I enjoy the smell. But I once asked my parents about this and they both said they definitely could taste it.