Effective Assessment of Coffee

Introduction

• Importance of effective assessment in valuing coffee, especially in specialty coffee.
• Distinction between effective assessment and descriptive assessment.

Key Differences

• Descriptive Assessment: Answers "What does a coffee taste like?"
• Effective Assessment: Answers questions like "Do I like the coffee?" and "Is the coffee of high quality?"

Definition of Effective Assessment

• Any method used to assess:
  • Acceptance
  • Liking
  • Preference
  • Emotions for a stimulus or stimuli.

Application in Coffee Cupping

• Descriptive analysis evaluates constituent flavors.
• Effective assessment measures responses to those flavors.
• Impression of Quality: A taster's opinion on the distinctiveness and desirability of a coffee sensory category.

Understanding Impression of Quality

1. Personal Preference: Based on individual experience and knowledge as a coffee taster.
2. Known Market Preference: Understanding norms and preferences in the coffee industry or among consumers.

Diversity in Coffee Quality Assessment

• Coffee tasters do not score coffees identically but may agree on higher quality options.
• Variation reflects strength in recognizing different coffee attributes.
• Transition from sensory description to expressing quality impressions relies on a cupper's expertise.

Subjectivity of Assessment

• Effective measurement is subjective; reflects personal responses or market preferences.
• Expectation of diversity in effective measurements due to individual preferences.

Measuring Effective Response

• Nine-Point Hedonic Scale: Developed in the 1940s to measure consumer response to foods.
  • Ranges from "like extremely" (9) to "dislike extremely" (1), with neutral at 5.
  • Adaptable across contexts and languages (e.g., smiley face scale for children).

Practical Application

• The CVA (Coffee Value Assessment) uses a 1-9 scale for rating impression of quality across eight categories.
• Freely elicited terms and notes can also be included.
• Effective scores converted into a 100-point scale using a formula from the CVA protocol.

Summary

• Effective assessment is based on the impression of quality.
• Utilizes a 9-point hedonic scale, translatable into a 100-point score.
• Data can be validated through consistency in effective preferences over time.