Human saliva is an important biofluid and commences the process of digestion. Upon secretion by salivary glands, saliva is presumably sterile but quickly is joined by microbes present in the oral cavity. Determinants of oral health are dependent on these microbes and may induce formation of caries, but the activity of these bacteria on foods and beverages in the oral cavity have not been characterised. In our lab, we work on understanding the incidence and variation of microbes in human saliva and have linked incidence of microbes to dietary intake and components and to the aromas reported from people when they consume wine. While a global core microbiome has been described, we see variation of microbiome composition based on a person’s country of residence. We propose a model for the involvement of microbes in release of flavour from foods and beverages. Understanding formation and stability of the oral microbiome allows us to consider a dimension of food preference and could be used to inform design of foods for particular audiences.