How to set up a tasting/smelling panel?

Hello!
Our company is presently working in developing a film that is the main component of a coffee packaging (important brand)
The film has passed all the process and machinery trials but now we want to know if it serves its purpose, which is, protecting the coffee­´s organoleptic properties.
I´ve read a couple of topics that were already posted in this forum and found them helpful but I´m wondering about the controlled environment.
About 10 years ago I was working for Budweiser and we used to have tasting panels but not sure if the rules still apply or if there´s anything anyone can recommend for coffee in particular.

The guidelines I have are:
- panelists should not wear any perfume or strong fabric softener
- panelists have to be non-smokers
- panelists should not be chewing gum or have washed their mouth with scented tooth paste (eg. mint)
- environment needs to be odor-free (no air freshners, etc)

As for the test itself, I was recommended to do the triangle test and description of different samples

Basically, we just need to verify that the coffee made with ground coffee contained in the previous package and current package taste and smell the same.

Like I said, any input would be more than welcomed.

Thanks in advance!

Paola

BUMP

I have taken part in organoleptic panels but I'm not an expert. Some things I'd include would be:

• Yep, triangle test seems sensible because you're making a change and you want to see if people can notice that change or not.
• I'd screen every person you're using for sensitivity to basic tastes and then check they can get an obvious (but not too obvious) test right in a triangle test and aren't colour blind.
• I'd do the tests in the morning if you can, ideally mid morning when people aren't likely to have had lots to eat recently.
• I'd check if I could and have the knowledge with a "bad" sample of coffee to check that the people you're using are sensitive to the off flavours you're looking for. I know that with cheese some people find flavours pleasant that I find repulsive (urgh to farmhouse cheddar for example! Tastes like eating a cow's bottom!)
• Ideally I'd also have tasting booths for this kind of test but if it's a one off, I wouldn't go for the expense but maybe you could have a 1 in 1 out on the room. With a triangle test you don't want discussion between participants (unlike say a shelf life test where that can be useful.)

I have to say the idea of beer taste panels sounds appealing , however, I'm more of a Budvar rather than Budweiser fan. Sorry!

See here Paolo: How to set up a taste panel

If you can afford the British Standards relating to sensory I would definitely recommend them as an investment! I am not sure about Canada but over in the UK we can get them free if you are a student or have an intern from a university. I am conducting sensory trials on traditional pork pies and it is tricky to find information surrounding this area but if you use google scholar there are a number of papers to get you started, why reinvent the wheel! (http://scholar.googl...F-8&sa=N&tab=ws).


If you are using descriptors it is worthwhile to developing them with the group as each of them will understand the term and they will all be in agreement as a whole group.

With your environment make sure that the temperature is constant as this will have an effect on you volatile aromas. If you are using any utensils or crockery I would recommend using disposable ones as washing up liquid or dishwasher solutions can taint.

LAB - CERT REQUIREMENTS V10NOV2010A.pdf   373.3KB   73 downloadsDear Mr. Paola
Please find the attachment. I hope it will be helpful. Otherwise you can browse www.scaa.org

btreddy

Hello!
Our company is presently working in developing a film that is the main component of a coffee packaging (important brand)
The film has passed all the process and machinery trials but now we want to know if it serves its purpose, which is, protecting the coffee­´s organoleptic properties.
I´ve read a couple of topics that were already posted in this forum and found them helpful but I´m wondering about the controlled environment.
About 10 years ago I was working for Budweiser and we used to have tasting panels but not sure if the rules still apply or if there´s anything anyone can recommend for coffee in particular.

The guidelines I have are:
- panelists should not wear any perfume or strong fabric softener
- panelists have to be non-smokers
- panelists should not be chewing gum or have washed their mouth with scented tooth paste (eg. mint)
- environment needs to be odor-free (no air freshners, etc)

As for the test itself, I was recommended to do the triangle test and description of different samples

Basically, we just need to verify that the coffee made with ground coffee contained in the previous package and current package taste and smell the same.

Like I said, any input would be more than welcomed.

Thanks in advance!

Paola

Thank you all so much!

Just coming back to this one (I tend to search for old threads related to my questions and re-start them rather than create a new one!)...

Is there a minimum number of people that you would need on a taste panel to get meaningful opinions?

What is a "significant" result? Say you had 12 taste testers, if 7 say the taste is different from the control is that meaningful (5 can't tell the difference...)?

Thanks.

Hmm. You're challenging my memory of statistics here.

Now this is for kids but might be of interest (especially the wording of the questions)

http://www.umaine.ed...s/PDFs/oreo.pdf

Here are some statistical tables to help establish significance:

http://sst-web.tees....fTestTables.pdf

Here's some background:

http://books.google....sensory&f=false

Ah, the last one has a better explained table in it. So as I understand it, for 12 people to get a significant result at the 5% level of confidence, you're looking for 10 people to notice a difference.

That's very useful; thanks GMO. I started with the kids example, which was pitched at about the right level for me!