Triangular tasting test

In the event of dispute, kava samples will be subject to a taste panel assessment using the triangular taste test. There will be at least 20 panelists and the results will be subjected to statistical analysis. Samples with statistically significant differences from test samples will be treated as contaminated. 

The triangular taste comparison tests were carried out according to Larmond (18). 

Assessment of taste is achieved by sensory analysis, from very simple experiments such as triangular tests aiming at determining detection thresholds to complex descriptive analysis approaches. A method referred to as time-intensity that consists in recording continuously the intensity of a given sensation over time under standardized conditions has been applied to study flavonoid bitterness and astringency properties. 

In general, the olfactory threshold of a compound is several orders lower than the taste threshold (Table 23.4). This may represent the probability of a compound taken into the mouth reaching the olfactory epithelium. In the ASBC triangular test (see later) the assessors are required to distinguish the similar beers first on the basis of odour. Similarly, with one brewery taste panel it was found that most members differentiated between two beers on the basis of aroma rather than taste 90-95% of the tiine [30]. The olfactory threshold (OT) can be calculated from the simplified equation ... 

The flavour of the bread from dough mixed in partial vacuum has also been compared with that of bread from doughs mixed in an oxygen-enriched atmosphere using two taste panels of 40 people. In the triangular test conducted, less than one-third of the panellists were able to select the odd sample correctly this result is not statistically significant. As a further check, the results from the two panels were compared and it was found that only two panellists had made the correct selection on both occasions. 

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