The original Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel was developed by the Specialty Coffee Assn. of America over 20 y ago, and needed an innovative revision. This study used a novel application of traditional sensory and statistical methods in order to reorganize the new coffee Sensory Lexicon developed by World Coffee Research and Kansas State Univ. into scientifically valid clusters and levels to prepare a new, updated flavor wheel. Seventy‐two experts participated in a modified online rapid free sorting activity (no tasting) to sort flavor attributes of the lexicon. The data from all participants were compiled and agglomeration hierarchical clustering was used to determine the clusters and levels of the flavor attributes, while multidimensional scaling was used to determine the positioning of the clusters around the Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel. This resulted in a new flavor wheel for the coffee industry.

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The American diet is lacking in plant-based foods and vegetables, higher in protein than necessary, and too centered on meat and poultry. Two major dietary shifts recommended by the 2015-2020 U.S. Dietary Guidelines are to increase vegetable intake and to increase the variety of protein food sources. One suggested strategy for doing this is to partially replace meat and poultry with vegetables and plant-based ingredients in mixed dishes. This research tested the potential of flavor modalities (taste, aroma, trigeminal, and their combination) as strategies to increase the sensory appeal of plant-forward dishes. Consumer testing (n = 141) was conducted in a cross-sectional design in a laboratory setting on 24 recipe variations. Three factors were tested: cuisine (Latin American, Mediterranean, and Asian), meat proportion (high-meat/low-vegetable versus low-meat/high-vegetable), and flavor strategy (taste, aroma, trigeminal, and a reducedintensity trimodal combination). Statistical analysis was performed in R and XLSTAT-Sensory R 2017. Four consumer preference segments were uncovered. The low-meat dishes achieved parity or higher in consumer acceptance across all recipes and flavor strategies. The taste and trigeminal strategies both had higher overall acceptability scores than the aroma strategy, and the differences were significant (P < 0.05) in some consumer preference segments. The consumers successfully characterized the samples using a Check-All-That-Apply task, verifying the flavor strategy design. This research provides insight into consumer preferences regarding flavor strategies to partially replace meat with vegetables in mixed dishes. The trigeminal and trimodal combination strategies were found to be the most promising flavor modalities to use to implement this shift.

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Obesity and obesity‐related illness are an increasingly prevalent problem globally, especially in Western society. One of the largest contributing factors to the obesity pandemic is the modern food environment and food culture. It is necessary to identify and develop strategies to increase the sensory appeal of healthy food and beverage options in order to provide healthy options to consumers without sacrificing the fundamental sensory enjoyment of eating. Since flavor is the largest driver of food intake and choice, it follows that flavor ought to be part of the solution. This paper reviews the potential of chili pepper or capsaicin (the pungent component of chili pepper) as a healthy eating strategy, by increasing energy expenditure, decreasing intake, decreasing eating rate, and enhancing flavor and satisfaction. Furthermore, we suggest a holistic chemesthetic approach to weight management, by using the sensory impact of trigeminal stimulation (spiciness or heat) in foods, rather than medicinally, in order to cross‐modally enhance tastes and odors, increase perceived complexity and overall flavor, increase sensory satisfaction, and decrease salt and caloric intake. Future research directions are discussed. Practical Application It is necessary to provide strategies, such as trigeminal stimulation, global culinary practices, and flavor complexity, to consumers to maintain sensory satisfaction derived from healthier foods and beverages. Healthy does not have to equate to flavorless or unappealing, although it is commonly believed that unhealthy = tasty in the United States. Food can be both healthy and flavorful if we harness our collective sensory and culinary knowledge to generate a satisfying sensory experience. Incorporation of trigeminal stimulation, the third dimension of flavor in addition to taste and aroma, such as capsaicin or hot pepper, is an excellent example of drawing from global cuisines, increasing flavor complexity, and increasing overall flavor impression, in order to boost the sensory appeal, nutrition content, and nutrient absorption of healthy foods and to promote healthier eating.