International Taste Institute

Blind tasting, for truly objective evaluations

Our strict tasting process is performed blind and in complete silence. Our chefs and sommeliers know nothing ahead of time about the product being tested, except for its category.

Jury members never make subjective or snap judgments, nor do they speak to each other during the tasting process. Instead, they provide thoughtful feedback and advice based on their deep experience with taste. Each product is evaluated in accordance with the 5 International Hedonic Sensory Analysis criteria (AFNOR XP V096A standards) – first impression, vision, olfaction, taste and texture (for food) or final sensation (for drinks).

Product samples are never compared with each other; they are always evaluated based on their own intrinsic characteristics.

Prepared, presented, and served with care

Natural lighting and standard transparent or white chinaware: every product is presented to the jury member in the same way, ensuring a consistent analysis process. The serving protocol we follow is highly precise and always respects the producer’s preparation and serving instructions.

We reserve the right to work with accredited laboratories to test the physical and chemical components of product samples. We do this to make sure that the quality of the sample matches the quality of the product available to the consumer.