Use of rating scales versus check‐all‐that‐apply ballots in quantifying strain‐specific Cannabis aroma

Abstract

Previous research using a check‐all‐that‐apply (CATA) method to describe the strain‐specific aroma of dried Cannabis flower revealed two major clusters, one characterized as woody, earthy, herbal and the other as citrus, lemon, sweet, and pungent. In this study, participants rated 10 strains (including seven strains not previously tested) using numeric rating scales and a slightly smaller set of odor descriptors. The results confirm the two major scent clusters, and indicate a possible intermediate cluster differentiated by a skunk note. We observed systematic variation in the use of descriptors and rating scales: evaluators who used more odor descriptors tended to assign higher scale ratings. Nevertheless, the CATA and rating scale methods yielded similar results. Practical applications The use of quantitative rating scales to characterize Cannabis aroma produces results similar to those obtained via CATA evaluation, but at the potential cost of increased test session time and perceived effort on the part of panelists. Given the large number of strains awaiting quantitative sensory assessment, the speedier CATA approach seems preferable for establishing strain‐specific aroma profiles and for mapping features of the Cannabis olfactory space. A reduced set of 40 descriptors is adequate to specify cannabis aroma; skunk and diesel are confirmed as valid descriptors.

A preliminary investigation into participants' reactions to a sensory trial investigating a cannabis edible

“…The participants were then presented with the questionnaire, including 9‐point hedonic scales (1 = Dislike Extremely to 9 = Like Extremely ), asking about their liking of the appearance, flavor, texture, and overall liking, as well as a CATA question. The descriptors included in the CATA question were based on a study of cannabis aromas (Gilbert & DiVerdi, 2019). The attributes included sweet, bitter, musty, sour, metallic, salty, aftertaste, astringent, dries the mouth, berry, blue cheese, butter, cheese, chemical, citrus, diesel, earthy, flowery, grape, grapefruit, herbal, honey, lemon, lime, mango, pine, pungent, sage, skunk, tea, and tobacco, as well as terms to describe the appearance (pink, red, white, rough, smooth) and texture (gummy, chewy, sticky, crunchy, dense, soft).…”

“…There is little research on how to conduct sensory analysis studies with cannabis or cannabinoids (Gilbert & DiVerdi, 2018; Gilbert & DiVerdi, 2019; Kwaśnica et al, 2020; Rice & Koziel, 2015). As such, this study explored participants' responses to a proposed sensory trial (hedonic scales and CATA) to evaluate a cannabis edible.…”

Cannabis Cultivation Facilities: A Review of Their Air Quality Impacts from the Occupational to Community Scale

“…Nonanal, for example, is expected to have a longer lifetime in the troposphere than most terpenes; , thus if a sufficient amount is emitted, it could cause a nuisance downwind of cultivation facilities. The odor description mainly associated with nonanal/decanol is “citrus” or “greasy”, of which the former has been reported for cannabis smell …”

“…The odor description mainly associated with nonanal/decanol is "citrus" or "greasy", of which the former has been reported for cannabis smell. 73 In hemp production, considerable odorous emissions occur during field retting, which refers to the practice of allowing the harvested hemp stems to decompose naturally on the field for several weeks. Mazian et al 40 observed that the odor concentration and persistence were higher during the first weeks of retting when the stems had been harvested after flowering rather than at seed maturity.…”

Study on the sensory acceptance and check all that apply of mixed juices in distinct Brazilian regions

“…This method is easily applicable (Ares et al, 2010a), where the sample is presented to the evaluators, along with a predefined list of descriptors terms, from which they are requested to mark all those they believe describes the sample (Ares et al, 2010b). Several recent sensory studies related to CATA method and food products have been conducted in order to verifyI: the consumer perception of probiotic yogurt using different consumer profiling techniques (Cruz et al, 2013); the performance of a CATA questionnaire as a tool to provide sensory profile of requeijão cremoso (Torres et al, 2017); the temperature-dependent sensory-attribute variations of cooked rice and their association with frequency of consumption (Pramudya & Seo, 2018); the application of CATA as a predictor tool of food choices of children in comparison to hedonic liking (Verwaeren et al, 2019); the use of rating scales versus CATA to quantify Cannabis aroma (Gilbert & DiVerdi, 2019); mouthfeel and texture properties of red wines (Kemp et al, 2019) and consumer perception in relation to Syrah wine produced São Francisco Valley, Brazil, at different fermentation stages (Alencar et al, 2019) using the CATA method.…”