Tasting protocols

Overview

Last building block of sensory evaluation, the tasting sheet or tasting grid defines the set of criteria the assessment should focus on. The creation of a tasting protocol can be divided in two steps (plus one extra optional):

1. Creation of tasting criteria: these are the characteristics to which the tasters will assign a score;
2. Creation of the tasting sheet or tasting grid: combining the previously created criteria, a tasting grid will be available for both one-off tastings and tasting sessions;
3. (optional) Creation of a tasting session: by combining the products to be tasted, a tasting sheet and assigning users, it allows for the comparative tasting of a series of products simultaneously.

Note that Regular Users cannot create their own tasting criteria, sheets or sessions.

Tasting criteria

Definition

Tasting criteria are the characteristics that the tasters will score when evaluating samples. They are usually grouped by category, such as nose or palate, but any category can be created to suit specific applications. Tasting criteria can be used in multiple tasting grids. They are independent of the product type and can be used for both wine and spirits (see the tasting grid section below).

• Criterion

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  A criterion takes the following attributes:

  Name

  Category: used to group criteria according to a common characteristic, such as nose or palate for example;

  Description (optional): used to provide a help text on the tasting sheet.

  Scoring scale: takes a minimum score, a maximum score, and steps between the two extremes which will build the scores available to the tasters. For example, a scale from 1 to 9 by steps of 2 will allow tasters to chose any score in the range 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9.

Just About Right

Wines and spirits are usually rated according to a set of selected criteria to which a rating scale is assigned. The rating scale is usually not used as an intensity scale, but as a "just about right" scale. The maximum score therefore corresponds to the exact expected expression of the criterion in question.

For example, you might rate the sweetness of a particular product. In this case, a scale of 1 to 10 should not be understood as

from 1: not sweet at all to 10: excessively sweet

but as

from 1: too sweet or not sweet enough to 10: perfectly sweet

Adding a criterion

To create a new tasting criterion, go to https://tastebuddy.io/protocols/ or click on Protocols in the left side bar or top right menu , and click on + Add criterion above the top-most table.

AccessCreation form

For example, a criterion defined as:

- Category: Nose
- Name: Expressiveness
- Description:
    Does the spirit clearly show identifiable characteristics for... # (1)
- Lowest score: 1
- Highest score: 10
- Steps: 1

1. ...the individual category? Are the raw materials, production techniques and product provenance easily recognizable?

will render on the tasting sheet as:

Notes

Updating criteria

While criteria can be updated at any time, it is good practice to avoid changing the scoring scale and instead create a new criterion if it has already been used in a sensory evaluation, to avoid comparing products that have not been evaluated with exactly the same protocol.

In the backend, although the score relative to the scale and the scale itself are stored in the database at the moment the sensory analysis results are submitted, if the criterion is changed, the system will allow the comparison of products that may have used different scales.

Defining the scoring scale

By setting different maximum and minimum scores for different criteria, the importance of the criteria can be weighted. Higher available scores for a given criterion result in a greater influence for that criterion on the overall evaluation. However, some of the analyses (in particular the Principal Component Analysis of the criteria) are performed on the value of the scores relative to their maximum (i.e. without taking into account the importance given to the criteria on the overall evaluation), and to make some of the charts (such as the radar charts) easier to read, the scores are sometimes normalised to a scale of 0-1.

Avoid middle ground

A common recommendation when defining a scoring scale for sensory evaluation is not to allow the choice of the exact centre. Avoid leaving the possibility of assigning a score exactly in the middle of the maximum and minimum to force the evaluators to choose a side. For example, avoid setting scoring scales such as [1, 2, 3, 4, 5] (where 3 is the exact centre). Instead, set the scale like [1, 2, 3, 4] or [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. This way the raters have to choose either below or above the mean of the scale.

Tasting grid

Definition

Tasting grids or tasting sheets are the combination of tasting criteria used to evaluate a sample. Tasting grids can be created specifically for wines or spirits, or can be used for both.

A tasting grid can then be used by all users in your organisation for one-off or punctual tastings (with direct creation of a product in the database), or associated with an ordered list of samples for comparative tastings.

• Tasting grid

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  A tasting grid has the following attributes:

  Name

  Product type: whether the tasting sheet can be used to rate wines, spirits or both (default to both);

  Comments: whether tasters can add comments (i.e. tasting notes) per criterion, per category of criteria, only a single overall tasting note or none at all (default to per category);

  Description (optional): used to provide a help text at the top of the tasting sheet.

  Ordered list of criteria: the list of criteria to be combined for a complete score of the sample.

Adding a tasting sheet

To create a new tasting sheet, go to https://tastebuddy.io/protocols/ or click on Protocols in the left sidebar or top right menu, and click on + Add Tasting Sheet above the second table.

AccessCreation form

On the newly opened page, enter the following information:

• Name: note that the name must be unique, i.e. if a tasting sheet with the same name already exists, submitting the form will raise an error;
• Description (optional): a help text which will appear when selecting the sheet for tastings;
• Product type: wether the tasting grid can be used for both or either of wines and spirits (default to both);
• Comments: how often a text box should appear on the tasting sheet to allow for tasting notes - per tasting criterion, category, only once at the bottom or never (default to per criterion category)
• Criteria list: criteria to be assigned to the tasting sheet and the position (i.e. the order) in which they should appear on the tasting grid.

Any number of criteria can be used (click + Add Criterion to add more fields). Only previously created criteria can be selected, and it is not currently possible to create new criteria directly from this page. See Adding a criterion section above.

Finally, click Add at the bottom right of the page to create the tasting sheet.

Regarding tasting notes

The choice of Comments will result in a different sorting of the word analysis on the results dashboard. The picutre opposite shows an example of the resulting word analysis with comments set for each criterion category.

Note, however, that the comments are not made mandatory to the taster. In other words, when evaluating a sample, users can leave the Note text box blank and still submit results. It is advisable to ask the tasters to do their best to be thorough in their tasting notes.

Ordering the criterion

The Position field determines the order in which the criteria appear in the tasting grid. This order can therefore be different from the one that appears in the tasting sheet creation form.

This field can take either an integer or a decimal number, positive or negative: the criteria can simply be labelled 1, 2, 3, ... but a new criterion can also be easily inserted by using a decimal number (based on the example above, setting a criterion with Position: 1.5 will give it the second position, even if it appears in the last position of the list on the creation form).

The above example will result in the criteria appearing as:

1. Aspect - Cleanliness
2. Nose - Aromatic complexity
3. Palate - Flavour complexity
4. Overall - Balance

Tasting sheets are available to all users within the organisation for punctual tasting (see Using Tastebuddy). They can also be combined with a product list for tasting sessions (see the Tasting Session section down below).

Updating an existing tasting sheet

Existing tasting sheets can be updated by clicking on Edit in the corresponding row of the tasting grid table. Any change will be reflected in existing results: for example, dashboards of results will show the current name of the tasting sheet, regardless of whether the name was different when the results were saved.

Modifying the criteria

It is strongly discouraged to change the list of criteria on an existing grid, other than to rearrange them, if the grid has already been used to record the sensory analysis of a sample. If you do decide to do so, take extra care when comparing samples to ensure that they have been evaluated using the same version of the grid.

In principle, adding or deleting a tasting criterion between two sensory evaluations is tantamount to modifying the tasting protocols, and therefore the comparison could become irrelevant.

Tasting session

Definition

A tasting session is the comparative evaluation of a number of similar products at the same time by one or more tasters, also known as a jury panel. It allows differences between products to be highlighted and a ranking to be established between them.

• Tasting Session

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  A tasting session has the following attributes:

  Name

  Tasting sheet: the tasting grid used to evaluate each sample;

  Scheduled date: the date from which the tasting session will be accessible to the assigned users;

  Accessible for (days): for how long should the session be accessible (default 7 days);

  Description: a description of the tasting session which appears at the top of the form to the jury;

  Hide sample: whether the name of the samples are displayed to the tasters or not. If the switch is activated, the name of the products will be replaced by "Product n";

  Assigned tasters: the list of tasters invited to the comparative sensory evaluation;

  Sample list: the list of sample in the order they are served;

Creating a tasting session

Tasting sessions are associated with product types; to create a new tasting session, go to https://tastebuddy.io/protocols/ or click on Protocols in the left sidebar or top right menu, and click on either + Create Spirits Tasting Session or + Create Wine Tasting Session above the appropriate table.

AccessCreation form

Wine VS Spirit tasting session

Make sure you have selected the correct product type on the Protocol page. Only the products of the selected product type that have been previously created and the tasting sheets that apply to the product type in question will be available in the various drop-down menus.

In case of error, a direct link to the other product type is available at the top of the page.

On the newly opened page, enter the following information:

• Name;
• Description (optional): a description of the tasting session that will be displayed at the top of the page when tasters access the tasting. For example, tips or warnings about the products can be added here;
• Tasting sheet: select the tasting grid that will be used to evaluate the samples. Only previously created tasting sheets corresponding to the selected product type will appear in the drop-down menu;
• Scheduled date: the intended date of the tasting session, from which the session will be accessible to the judges;
• Accessible for: how many days after the scheduled date the tasting session should be available (see note below).
• Hide sample names: check this box to replace the names of the samples with the order in which they are served;¹
• Assigned tasters: select all the users who should participate in the tasting session;²
• Samples: from the drop-down menu, select the samples to be added to the tasting session and assign an order to them by filling in the Position field Any number of spirits (respectively wines) can be added by clicking + Add spirit (respectively + Add wine)

About scheduled date and availability

Each tasting session is only accessible from its scheduled date. Although it appears on the home page of the assigned users from the moment it is created, the link will be closed until the scheduled date. The results dashboard, whether it's for a taster or for the administrators, will also be inaccessible until one of these two conditions is met:

1. All assigned tasters have completed the session and submitted results;
2. The delay specified in the Accessible for (days) field, calculated from the scheduled date, has elapsed.

Once a taster has completed a tasting session and submitted their results, they won't be able to modify their records or access the tasting session anymore.

Ordering the samples

The Position field determines the order in which the samples
appear in the tasting grid. This order can therefore be different from the one that appears in the tasting session creation form.

This field can take either an integer or a decimal number, positive or negative: the samples can simply be labeled 1, 2, 3, ... but a new sample can also be easily inserted by using a decimal number (based on the example above, setting a sample with Position: 1.5 will give it the second position, even if it appears in the last position of the list on the creation form).

The above example will result in the samples appearing as:

1. Peated Whisky - Peated Scotch Whisky #1
2. Peated Whisky - Peated Scotch Whisky #2
3. Peated Whisky - Peated Scotch Whisky #3
4. Peated Whisky - Peated Scotch Whisky #4

Following up the tasters progress

The progress of the assigned tasters can be followed live by the administrators. From the home page, in the TASTING PROGRESS card, click on the Progress button next to the corresponding tasting session to display the status of all the tasters.

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1. Note: to show the sample names in the results dashboard, edit the tasting session after all results have been submitted and uncheck the box; ↩

2. Currently only users with an account can be invited to a tasting session. Further development of TasteBuddy will open tasting sessions to Anonymous users ↩