Origin From the Mediterranean to China. Fenugreek is an ancient spice, although most people in Western countries seem to dislike its flavour. It is now mostly used in the Middle East and India, especially for pickles. Dry roasting can enhance the flavour and reduce the bitterness, provided care is taken not to overheat the seeds. It is worth noting that bitter taste is strongly appetizing and, thus, has indeed true culinary merit.
Bitter taste is also typical for spices containing glycosides.
As I have explained elsewhere , it's not the glycosides which are responsible for the culinary value of a plant, but their easily formed, yet frequently unstable aglyca. Lastly, if wasabi powder is mixed with water, the paste tastes unpleasant and bitter in the first minutes, but then develops an intensive horseradish -like pungency. There are also several bitter tropic spices, which generally tend to be not very popular in the West.