Pungency
The biting, burning or tingling sensation spices cause, which is felt as pain-adjacent touch rather than taste.
Also: spice heat, sharpness, kaarum, tikhapan
Pungency covers a family of sensations: chilli burn from capsaicin, pepper bite from piperine, ginger warmth from gingerol, mustard and wasabi vapour from isothiocyanates, clove tingle from eugenol and Sichuan buzz from sanshool. None is a taste in the strict sense. They activate pain and temperature receptors, TRPV1 for heat, TRPA1 for mustard and wasabi, which explains why each feels different, whether lingering, sharp or nasal. Cultures cherish pungent spices, in part because the sensation signals warmth and stimulation. The word in many languages is unrelated to heat in temperature, as in kaaram in Telugu, which means both spicy and chilli powder.