Adaptation of the EsSence Profile for the evaluation of the emotional profile of herbal teas

Rocha, C.; Pereira, D.; Madeira, A.; Lima, Rui C.; Cardoso, L.; Alves, L.; Moura, Ana Pinto de; Cunha, Luís Miguel

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.2/5038

Use this identifier to reference this record.

Name:	Description:	Size:	Format:
Rocha_Pereira_2015.pdf		231.94 KB	Adobe PDF	Download

Send Feedback

Authors

Abstract(s)

Introduction Infusions of herbs have been constantly sought and used for the pleasure of its aromatic richness and the impact on health and wellness. In recent years, the effect of emotional arousal on consumer’s perception has been studied1 Aim The aim of the present work is to apply and adapt the 39 emotion terms list of the EsSence Profile1 questionnaire, in order to optimize its applicability2 for herbal tea evaluation. Methods A non-trained panel of 100 consumers evaluated eight organic herbal teas: lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla), white peppermint (Mentha x piperita officinalis), lemon thyme (Thymus x citriodorus), lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile), lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), globe amaranth (Gomphrena globose) and tutsan (Hypericum androsaemum), using a CATA ballot with the 39 Essence Profile emotion terms. After the tasting test, two focus groups (n=6) were performed in order to evaluate the applicability of the questionnaire, namely the terms that were missing or those that did not match herbal teas. Results From the EsSence Profile results, consumers did not differentiate samples regarding the emotion terms ‘good’, ‘warm’, ‘nostalgic’, ‘uncontrolled’ and ‘guilty’ (p>0,05). The content analysis of focus groups suggests the removal of the terms ‘aggressive’ and ‘pleasant’, because consumers refer to them as a sensory attributes. The terms ‘whole’, ‘disgusted’ and ‘worried’ were removed as they were considered as not fitting the product. The emotion terms ‘happy’, ‘steady, ‘mild’ and ‘tender’ were removed because were considered to be very similar to other emotion terms in the questionnaire. The participants of the focus group added the emotions ‘indifferent’, ‘afraid’, ‘confused’ and ‘relaxed’. Discussion/conclusions Changes in the questionnaire, results on a list of 29 emotion terms for the evaluation of the emotional profile of selected herbal teas.