Sensory Lexicon of Brewed Coffee for Japanese Consumers, Untrained Coffee Professionals and Trained Coffee Tasters

Abstract

A sensory lexicon was developed for describing the characteristics of brewed coffee. A panel consisting of six untrained coffee professionals and four experienced trained coffee tasters generated 377 expressions in a sensory evaluation of 24 coffee samples selected from commercial 52 coffee types. Of these expressions, 127 terms (seven for appearance, 61 for aroma, 23 for taste/flavor, eight for mouthfeel and 28 for overall impression) were selected for the lexicon. Twelve selected assessors who did not have any experiences in coffee tasting or any special knowledge about coffee validated the list. Rec-8 Corresponding Journal of Sensory Studies 25 (2010) 917-939. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 917ognition of each term by consumers and untrained coffee professionals was then investigated, and a 50% recognition criterion was used as the minimum level for the vocabulary of each group. Out of 127 terms, 31 and 60 terms were regarded as suitable for the consumer and untrained coffee professionals, respectively. The data obtained in this study are relevant for description of products in sales, as material for consumer education in workshops on coffee, and as a preliminary source of descriptors for a sensory evaluation in product development in Japan. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSJapan is the fourth largest importer of coffee in the world. Although some sensory lexicons of brewed coffee were developed internationally, these coffee lexicons contribute little to a precise description of coffee in Japan because sensory descriptors are affected by culture and language. This research provides a sensory lexicon consisting of 127 terms for describing the characteristics of brewed coffee in Japan and tests the recognition of each term by Japanese consumers. The lexicon developed in this study can be used as a preliminary source of descriptors for a sensory evaluation during product development and for a questionnaire during market research in Japan. In addition, it can be useful in describing sensory characteristics of coffee in a sales situation and in workshops on coffee for consumers. SENSORY LEXICON OF BREWED COFFEE IN JAPAN SENSORY LEXICON OF BREWED COFFEE IN JAPAN

Development of a “living” lexicon for descriptive sensory analysis of brewed coffee

“…These terms are similar to those reported being used by trained panelists by Di Donfrancesco et al (). There are some similarities among these attributes an those of Hayakawa et al (), but there are a number of attributes used by those authors that are not found in this lexicon primarily because they overlap with other attributes, are vague or general in nature, or have connotations associated with pleasantness, which are not descriptive in nature. Similarly, some terms are similar to those of Seo et al (), but the present lexicon contains more specific flavor terms perhaps because the previous authors used mass‐media terms and consumers as well as trained panelists to develop the lexicon they proposed.…”

“…In this project that was done with Set 1 samples. Researchers proposed terms based on previous work (Di Donfrancesco et al, ; Sanchez & Chambers, ) and literature was consulted to include more terms that had been used in previous sensory research (Bhumiratana et al, ; Hayakawa et al, ; Narain, Paterson, & Reid, ). At this point, additional, terms, definitions, and references were proposed by the panel.…”

“…A few studies have been conducted on the sensory properties of coffee in its various stages, from the green bean to the brewed coffee. For example, studies in Italy (Masi, Dinnella, Barnabà, Navarini, & Monteleone, 2013) and Japan (Hayakawa et al, ) used descriptive analysis with consumers and untrained coffee professionals to define the sensory properties of brewed coffee and found 16 and 31–60 terms repectively that they suggested could be used for coffee. Other studies have used highly‐trained sensory panels and focused on certain sensory attributes.…”

Cross‐cultural development of hibiscus tea sensory lexicons for trained and untrained panelists

“…Sensory lexicons provide accurate and reproducible results for descriptive sensory analysis (Cherdchu, Chambers, & Suwonsichon, ) and constitute a tool for communication within panels and across diverse audiences (Hayakawa et al, ; Lawless & Civille, ). Its application to describe and compare the quality of hibiscus teas should, therefore, lead to a better understanding of the quality of existing products and suggest avenues for the development of new ones.…”

The compositional basis of coffee flavour

“…Sensory language to describe the texture and mouthfeel of commercial coffee has been developed by research from Japan and Korea and includes terms such as having body astringency, round, smooth, thick, coarse, grainy, rough, oily, and sticky, with overall impressions of being crisp, pure, non-persistent, clear, sharp, mild, round, soft, delicate, balanced, intense, strong, heavy, hard, light, neutral, monotonous, flat, simple and light, mellow, winey, rich, nippy, piquant, pungent, tangy, acrid, alkaline, easy to swallow and refreshing (Hayakawa et al, 2010, Seo et al, 2009). An Italian study on the sensory classification of espresso developed descriptors such as thick, lingering, fullmouthed, viscous, resistance to tongue-palate movements, syrupy, consistency, velvety, pasty/doughy, creamy, mouth-coating, smooth, round, clinging/tongue coating, particulate, bulky, rich/heavy (Navarini et al, 2004).…”