Create a tasting
The 7-step wizard in the tastings module, from the test type to launch.
Goal
Set up and launch a tasting with its samples, its attribute protocol, its assessor panel, and its logistics. The wizard guides you step by step and saves your progress automatically.
How to get there
- URL:
https://app.areacacao.com/sensory-analysis/evaluations/new - How to reach it: in Evaluations, click New evaluation. You can also use the Descriptive tasting shortcut in the sidebar, which opens the wizard already preset to the Descriptive tasting type and directly on the Samples step.
- From a recipe: from the recipe editor you can launch an evaluation of that recipe. The wizard opens already linked to the source recipe and with the suggested evaluation name based on the recipe name; you only have to finish setting up samples, protocol, and panel.
Pro plan and above. On the Starter plan the wizard is replaced by an invitation to subscribe.
Before you start
- Be clear about what you want to evaluate (product samples, batch, variant).
- Decide on the test type (see Test types).
- If you're going to invite your panel, it helps to have your panelists on hand (you can also create them on the fly).
The wizard
The wizard opens as a near-full-screen window, with a step indicator (stepper) at the top. In the footer you'll see the autosave status and the Back and Next → buttons. On the last step, the button is Launch tasting.
There's no "Save draft" button. The wizard saves your progress automatically in your browser: the footer shows Draft saved, Unsaved changes, or Saving… depending on the moment. If you close the window with pending changes, it will ask whether you want to leave and save the draft or discard it.
Steps
Step 1 — Test type
Choose the test type. The options are organized in an accordion of four blocks:
- Most common (open by default): Descriptive tasting · Triangle test · Hedonic (consumer).
- Other comparative tests: Paired comparison (2-AFC) · Duo-trio · Simple ranking · Ranking with scales.
- Advanced tests: Time-intensity · Aroma release. (For a trained panel; they demand time and rigorous method.)
- Panel training: Basic taste recognition · Threshold detection. (Qualify your panelists per ISO 8586.)
There are 11 types in total. Each one comes with its description. When you select a type, the wizard advances automatically to the next step.
If you choose a panel training type or the hedonic (consumer) test, the wizard skips the Protocol step (the hedonic test uses the 9-point Peryam scale directly; training fixes its method by standard). In those cases the flow has 6 steps instead of 7.
Step 2 — Product and samples
Define what you're going to taste:
- Product category (required): Cocoa mass and liquor · Finished chocolate · Bonbons and truffles · Fillings · Traditional pastes · Fruit jellies · Special products · Other / Generic.
- Filling subtype (optional, only if the category is Fillings): 13 subtypes available (Firm ganache, Soft ganache, Crunchy pralines, Liquid praline, Gianduja, Soft caramel, Hard caramel, Salted caramel, Fondant, Pastry cream, Buttercream, Chocolate mousse, Marshmallow) plus the Unspecified option. It's just a descriptive label for the sample.
- Evaluation name (required): the title it will appear under in the list.
- Blind mode (checkbox): when enabled, each sample gets a random 3-digit code and the panel will see only that code, never the real name.
Then add the samples with the Add sample button. For each sample you enter an internal name (e.g. Río Caribe, varietal A, batch 0526) and, optionally, internal notes (batch, supplier, etc.) that the panelist doesn't see.
The sample range depends on the test type: ranking (simple and with scales) requires 3 to 8 samples (ISO 8587); every other test accepts 2 to 20. We recommend 4–6 per session to avoid sensory fatigue; with more than 6 you'll see a warning. If you go outside the range for the chosen type, the wizard tells you with a contextual message and won't let you continue until you fix it. If you click Next → with unnamed samples, the wizard asks whether you want to continue (it will name them "Sample 1", "Sample 2"…) or go back and name them.
In discriminative tests (triangle, paired comparison, duo-trio) mark which one is the reference sample with each sample's mark button: in the triangle test you mark the odd sample; in paired comparison and duo-trio, the correct sample. This mark is the ground truth and isn't shown to the panelist.
If you chose a panel training type (basic tastes or thresholds), this step changes: instead of product samples you set up the ISO test (tastes to present and minimum hits, or compound and concentration levels). The system synthesizes the samples from that setup. You have it detailed in Training.
Step 3 — Protocol and attributes
Choose the protocol that defines which attributes the panel will rate and with which scales. The screen shows:
- Recommended for your product: protocols suggested based on the category you chose. If there's only one, it's preselected.
- Other available protocols: collapsible list with the rest of the catalog. Click View full list to open a protocol's detail (its attributes grouped by family: Base, Aromatics, Defects, Mouthfeel, Textures, Other).
If you chose the Other category, the wizard suggests the Master Chocolatier protocol as a base, since it's the most complete in the catalog.
This step doesn't appear in training tastings (basic tastes, thresholds): the protocol is assigned automatically.
Step 4 — Assessor panel
Assign who will evaluate the tasting:
- Add panelist: opens a window with two tabs, Create new and Select existing. The panelists you create here are saved to your workshop and you can reuse them in future tastings. Each assigned panelist appears as a chip; removing it from this tasting doesn't delete it from the catalog. From here you can also view and edit any panelist's record (their email helps you tell apart two with the same name) and the wizard avoids duplicates: see Add a panelist.
- Sample presentation order: how they're served to each panelist to neutralize position bias.
- Random (default): each panelist gets a different order.
- Balanced (Williams): ideal for 5 samples or fewer; guarantees carryover balance.
- Cyclic Latin square: for multiple panel blocks.
- Manual: you set the order by hand.
- Mode: Synchronous (default, everyone tastes at the same time) or Asynchronous (open deadline; Pro plan only).
The wizard shows a non-blocking notice with the minimum recommended number of panelists for the test type: ≥24 for discriminative tests (triangle, paired comparison, duo-trio), ≥60 for the hedonic (consumer) test, and ≥8 for descriptive, time-intensity, and ranking. You can continue with fewer, but the results will be indicative only (insufficient statistical power).
Order details in Presentation order.
Step 5 — Date, place, and instructions
Set up the session logistics:
- Start date and time (if the tasting is synchronous) or Closing deadline (if it's asynchronous).
- Place: where the tasting takes place (e.g. Main workshop, tasting room).
- Instructions for the panelist: the text the panel sees when starting (e.g. Cleanse your palate with water and a cracker between samples).
- Directed question: appears only in paired comparison, duo-trio, and the two ranking types. It's the question that guides the panel (e.g. Which of the two samples is sweeter?).
- More details (optional): collapsible block with Amount per panelist (g) and Presentation conditions (temperature, glass type, neutralizer between samples).
Step 6 — Output and reports
Decide which results are shared and whether a dossier is generated:
- What do panelists see when the tasting ends?
- Nothing: you reveal the results manually.
- Only their own evaluation (default): each panelist sees what they scored.
- Panel consensus: when the tasting closes, everyone sees the anonymous aggregate.
- Generate a technical dossier automatically when the tasting closes (checkbox): produces a PDF with spider chart, color wheel, ANOVA + Tukey, and comments.
Step 7 — Confirmation and launch
Review the Tasting summary (type, samples, panelists, mode, order, date or deadline, place, dossier at close, visibility to panel) and the blind codes preview that will be assigned to each sample.
The summary includes a Product row, but today it appears empty (—): the category and subtype you chose aren't reflected there. The product is used to build the tasting title, which is the name you'll see it under in the list.
Click Launch tasting. The backend assigns the final blind codes and the tasting moves to Active status; panelists will get access and see only the blind code, never the real sample name.
Expected result
The tasting opens on its detail screen in Active status. It appears in the evaluations list and the panel can start evaluating through the configured channels.