The System attributes
Curated catalog of 79 sensory attributes you can use in your protocols.
Distribution
AreaCacao curates 79 sensory attributes: 71 from the System plus 8 from the Extended catalog (LATAM).
The 71 System attributes break down by category:
| Category | Attributes |
|---|---|
| Base | 7 |
| Complementary (aromatic, spread across 11 families) | 36 |
| Defect | 16 |
| Mouthfeel / Texture | 12 |
| System total | 71 |
To these we add the 8 Extended catalog attributes tagged by region (LATAM vocabulary), for 79 in total.
The number 11 you'll see cited is the count of aromatic families, not attributes. The 36 complementary attributes are spread across those 11 families. The full breakdown of levels, categories, and families is in Families, attributes, and sub-attributes.
What each attribute carries
Every attribute in the catalog carries:
- A canonical name.
- A category (Base, Complementary, Defect, or Mouthfeel / Texture) and, if it's Complementary, its family.
- A short description that appears under the name on the card.
- An operational definition that serves as a training guide for the panel.
- In the Extended catalog, also the region.
How to browse them
To see the live attributes, open the Attributes manager: the hierarchical tree lists them all, with filters by level, category, and family. When you create a custom protocol you add them from that same catalog (see Create a custom protocol).
Customization
Beyond the 79 curated ones, you can create your own custom attributes for your workshop (for example, a note specific to your local terroir). They stay in your custom catalog, not the System one. See Families, attributes, and sub-attributes.