Characterizing product temperature-dependent sensory perception of brewed coffee beverages: Descriptive sensory analysis.

In most previous studies, brewed coffee samples were served at specific serving temperatures for sensory evaluation. While several recent studies have illustrated that serving temperature does have an impact on sensory attribute intensities of brewed coffee, more elaboration is needed. By focusing on knowledge gaps between earlier studies, this study sought to determine whether and how sensory attributes of brewed coffee can vary as a function of serving temperature and coffee variety. In this study, 6 trained panelists rated intensities of 32 sensory attributes (3 appearances, 12 aromas, 2 tastes, 13 flavors, and 2 mouthfeels) with respect to brewed coffee samples, of each of three varieties (Ethiopian, Kenyan, and Colombian) served at four different serving temperatures: 70, 55, 40, and 25 °C, respectively. The results indicated that intensities of 18 and 7 attributes, respectively, differed significantly with serving temperature and coffee variety. A principal component analysis (PCA) showed the greater amount of data variation could be attributed to serving temperature (63.28%) rather than coffee variety (21.24%), much like the result of a hierarchical clustering analysis. Regression vector (RV) coefficients, determined by a factor score matrix of brewed coffee samples served at different temperatures, revealed that brewed coffee samples served at 70 and 55 °C were perceived differently from those served at 40 and 25 °C. In conclusion, the findings emphasize that sensory attributes of brewed coffee samples should be evaluated at multiple serving temperatures, both higher (70 to 55 °C) and lower (40 to 25 °C) ones, to better capture sensory attributes of brewed coffee than those from a traditional sensory evaluation. Further study is needed to characterize different coffee samples with respect to lessening an overwhelming effect of serving temperature.

Predicting consumer liking and preference based on emotional responses and sensory perception: A study with basic taste solutions.

Traditional methods of sensory testing focus on capturing information about multisensory perceptions, but do not necessarily measure emotions elicited by these food and beverages. The objective of this study was to develop an optimum model of predicting overall liking (rating) and preference (choice) based on taste intensity and evoked emotions. One hundred and two participants (51 females) were asked to taste water, sucrose, citric acid, salt, and caffeine solutions. Their emotional responses toward each sample were measured by a combination of a self-reported emotion questionnaire (EsSense25), facial expressions, and autonomic nervous system (ANS) responses. In addition, their perceived intensity and overall liking were measured. After a break, participants re-tasted the samples and ranked them according to their preference. The results showed that emotional responses measured using self-reported emotion questionnaire and facial expression analysis along with perceived taste intensity performed best to predict overall liking as well as preference, while ANS measures showed limited contribution. Contrary to some previous research, this study demonstrated that not only negative emotions, but also positive ones could help predict consumer liking and preference. In addition, since there were subtle differences in the prediction models of overall liking and preference, both aspects should be taken into account to understand consumer behavior. In conclusion, combination of evoked emotions along with sensory perception could help better understand consumer acceptance as well as preference toward basic taste solutions.