Establishment of sensory evaluation protocols for Philippine cacao competitions

• Main Authors: Morillo, Bernadette Cecilia L., Tagupa, Erika Annelei M.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2019
• Subjects: Cacao beans > Philippines
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/5691
• Institution: De La Salle University

In this study, tablea products processed from Theobroma cacao beans grown in Davao, Philippines were evaluated for their sensory attributes using quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA). These attributes include color, chocolate odor. Toasted flavor, toasted odor, sweetness, bitterness, citrus fruit flavor, chocolate flavor, astringency, firmness, and melting quality. Twenty-five panelists were trained to perform sensory evaluation on six tablea samples. Out of twenty panelists, only eleven were selected to form the pool of final sensory evaluators based on the means of their responses on the QDA score sheet. Significant differences (p<0.05) were determined among all samples for each sensory attribute and a spider plot containing the sensory profile of the beans was generated. Headspace-solid phase microextraction-gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (HS-SPME-GCMS) was used to identify the volatile compounds responsible for the characteristic odor or sensory attribute of the tablea samples. The use of HS-SPME-GCMS has been proven to be effective in supporting the data generated for the sensory analysis.