Conducting a blind tasting takes an assortment of skills and a variety of characters. First, the skills:
Analytical – what do you present to the taster in order to showcase your specialty or unique opportunity?
Organization – how do you present the items to the taster, so all items have an equal opportunity to be tasted and evaluated?
Evaluation – how can the taster record and reflect on what they are tasting in order to articulate why they prefer one taste over another?
Presentation – How do you keep it engaging and interesting to the taster?
Now, to the characters
The Innovator – This person likes to “play it by ear” and prepare the tasting on the go. They typically have a passion for creating something and showing everyone how good it can be.
The Measurer – This person will measure every ¼ ounce using some measuring tool. They are precision oriented and need each quantity to come out the same.
The Planner – This person will plan the tasting down to last sip and may have a problem if the order needs to be adjusted or changed
Over the next few posts, we will evaluate these issues. Conducting a taste test is fun and engaging, but it takes a lot of work.
