Abstract
Consumers often express different preferences for beverages in sensory test settings
compared with those in real-life settings. This study investigates the effects of tasting
context on consumer tasting and evaluation of beverages. Three groups of respondents
participated in a blind taste test of a consumer beverage in different settings and then
evaluated the pleasantness of the beverage. Those who tasted in a real-life setting
tended to report greater pleasantness for the sample than those who tasted in a test
setting where they were asked to rate multiple sensory characteristics of the sample.
Those who tasted in a test setting in which they were not asked to rate these char-
acteristics tended to give the sampled beverage moderate ratings that ranked between
those given by the other two groups. Several potential explanations for the effects of
tasting context are discussed.
