Familiarity and liking playing a role on the perception of trained panelists: A cross-cultural study on teas

Consumers cultural background is known to influence their food choice. To better understand the sensory perception across cultures, it is helpful to work with both a descriptive panel and consumers. This study examined how tea products of differing fermentation levels were described and liked by different cultures. Seven tea samples were evaluated by Korean and French trained panels and consumers. The trained panels evaluated the samples on appearance, flavor, and mouthfeel. The consumers rated the samples on acceptability and familiarity. The result indicated that both descriptive panels experienced varying degrees of taste and odor cross-modal interaction. On the unfamiliar samples, French panelists perceived high sweetness, and low bitterness and astringency in the presence of preferred aromas, suggesting that liking influences taste even for trained panels. Consumers generally liked familiar products but even an unfamiliar sample was liked when coupled with more preferred sensory characteristics and less disliked sensory properties. Present findings indicate that even trained panels are influenced by familiarity and liking. In order to better understand the cultural differences in liking, a descriptive sensory test within a culture is recommended especially when the samples are unfamiliar to that culture. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.