4 replies to this topic

[Alexis M]

Hey y'all, I work for a manufacturing plant that specializes in tea and coffee... Since I was hired (about 10 months ago) I have been slowly going through and finding things that I believe that we can improve on and some procedures that need updating... I am wondering if any of yall could share how you set your standards for the sensory cupping... Currently we are using retain samples from a previous run, ran at least 3 months before our current run. We then throw them away weekly as we run multiple blends per day. I really don't like this due to the fact that I am having to use our retain samples... The larger problem with this comes in if I get emailed a customer complaint because it's likely I don't have the sample anymore. I was thinking about either holding 3 cases from the start of every manufacturing run coming up this new year or take my samples straight from the grinders, vacuum seal those and use them.. The only really like "big" issue I see with these is the fact that we don't have a STD STD... One that we know for a fact will always be right so I'm open to any suggestions you guys might have on how to choose my STD, or any info yall might have just in general about the topic at hand. 

 

Thanks in advance, 

Alexis :)

[MDaleDDF]

I do some of my testing against a standard from a previous run, same as you.   Not coffee, but same idea.   If you're burning through all your retains, yes, you need to retain more.   I keep an 8oz retain, required by the FDA, and for certain formulations I know I'll use some of the retain, I keep an extra 16oz to play with.

As far as a standard standard, that can be tough.   You have to trust you did it right the last time if you passed it.   I do take photos of mix, and finished product to refer to, but you obviously can't store smell or taste, so at some level there's some 'tribal knowledge' that you just have to know from experience...

[kingstudruler1]

You could have drift over time if you are just declaring an approved batch as a standard.    I guess it depends on how you are approving the batch.   ie one person vs many and/ or how trained they are in sensory evaluation and desired characteristics of the product.   

 

The standard could // should be approved by the person / persons knowledgeable to the product. (qc, rd, production, sales, etc) the standard could either be a lab created standard or one from production.  

 

I am with you in that I agree that you should have retains that are used for that purpose and a standard used for routine product comparison.   

[Ryan M.]

I would look into gaining sensory experience that is directly related to coffee and tea.  There are some universities and companies that provide broad sensory courses and knowledge.  IFT puts on an online course that is a very good deal for the money / cost.  It is a very good value and something you can come away with to use in your plant.

 

You need to define your "gold standard" you are using as a comparison with your production quality.  This can be a previous production sample.  Whatever it is you need to define the characteristics as detailed as possible.  Then you determine your gold standard and you have production samples that meet that standard you can hold onto them for a good while.  If properly stored you can use it up to a year without issue, and it will still maintain the same sensory profile.

 

Then you run your difference testing with the cupping.  Adequately defining and describing your gold standard will be the toughest part; always a challenge.

[Scampi]

Could you clarify what you're trying to achieve?  Are you using cupping to determine if each batch has an identical flavor profile?

 

what is your most common customer complaint?