Chapter 18 - Sensory Evaluation—Profiling and Preferences

International audienceTasting has always been at the heart of coffee growing and production. Expert coffee tasting prevails while applying a correct and structured sensory evaluation still requires improvement. In reality, the key actors of the coffee sensory assessment all along the value chain are the expert coffee taster, the sensory analyst, and the consumer. A major challenge for sensory evaluation in coffee is bridging the gap between the expert tasters and consumers. It is especially important in coffee because, as a natural crop product, supplies and the quality of those supplies constantly change, and consumer preferences evolve over time. Thanks to the continuous innovation in the discipline, methods are becoming more flexible, faster, and adaptable to one's business reality but they require more than ever the know-how of the sensory professional. This chapter looks at the methods used and issues in sensory testing with an emphasis on how they are currently being applied in the coffee industry. In evaluating these methods, bridging the gap between the sensory experiences of experts and those of consumers are considered in detail