About
Tasting notes
I taste whatever I feel like, whenever I feel like it and I buy everything myself. None of the products or results posted are part of any of the projects for which I get paid to taste (see below).
I mostly use descriptive analysis, the aim of which is to have an objective description of a product “in terms of the perceived sensory attributes”, although in this case the description is subjective, since it is only my opinion.
SAAFoST 25th Biennial Congress 28 - 30 Aug 2023, CTICC, Cape Town
In 2023 I have a talk at the above congress, with the title "The people in the booth - Sensory in Stellenbosch". It fell in the "commercial appeal" category, and summarized the sensory ecosystem in the Stellenbosch area. Here's my abstract.
My day job/s
I run a web development company and that takes up most of my day, but I am also a panelist on several technical tasting panels in the Stellenbosch area. We've tasted many things over the years, including herbal teas, meat, joghurt, water, chocolate, wine, spirits, cider, beer, sauces, fruit (including plums, citrus, apples, pears):
- Stellenbosch University:
- Heineken Beverages
- Senselab (until Sept2023)
- Wine and Spirit Board
Listen to a clip from a radio interview (in Afrikaans) that describes what I do.
Sensory evaluation during COVID-19
Our In-lab tasting protocol during the 3rd COVID wave in South Africa was pretty tight (for those projects where At-Home tasting wasn't possible):
- daily COVID health app questionnaire
- temperature measurement
- physical distance
- masks
- face screens
- sanitizer
- open doors and windows (mid-winter brrr)
- reduced panel size/split sessions
- combination at-home and in lab