Tells the user what colour capsules are inside. Chemical name and quantity (for certified standards). Colour or florox identifies the sector. Acts as a quick reference to users of the flavour name and the signature is a mark of authenticity. Brand name of our flavour standards. Recyling symbols are shown on the inner sieve and the packaging is easily seperable and recyclable. Pharmaceutical grade FDA-approved desiccants.
Capsule icon
Chemical name
Flavour icon
Aroxa logo
Recycling symbols
Dessicants
We develop and manufacture more than 200 flavour standards.
In beer, these range from wide variety of compounds originating from off-flavours to positive flavours found via hops or speciality malts.
Our certified range of flavour standards features those flavours most commonly found in the brewing process, and are the core flavours for any brewery panel to know.
Our new range of 6-pack flavour standards are applicable largely to craft breweries, and the wide range of flavours found in the 200+ styles available on the market today.
Cara Technology Founder, Dr Bill Simpson, developed the world’s first stabilized flavour standards. For 17 years they’ve been used by taste panel leaders in more than 170 countries to improve the performance of their professional taste panels.
Certified flavour standards can be used to train your tasters to recognize and scale the intensity of more than 70 individual flavour notes in beer, cider, wine, water, soft drinks and a range of other foods and beverages including ready meals, spirits and oils. Each flavour standard contains a precise quantity of powdered sensory-pure flavour material, nano-encapsulated for stability.
The materials are added directly to your product, be it beer, cider, wine, water, soft drinks or other foods or drinks.
Samples prepared in this way are then safe for tasters to smell and taste.
Each batch of flavour standards is extensively and meticulously analysed to assure consistent flavour character and strength.
Our flavour standards are produced and tested in accordance with our DS | EN | ISO 9001:2015 certified quality management system in facilities that conform to Pharma-GMP standards.
These certfied flavour standards are easy to use and require no specialist laboratory facilities. All you need is your product, clean bottles or flasks, some glasses and, of course, some tasters to taste the samples.
WHY SHOULD I USE THEM?
If you’re still unsure on why you should use flavour standards to assess your tasters’ skills, we have listed a few simple reasons below that may convince you:
By using flavour standards you avoid the risk of harm posed by dangerous raw chemicals. Some chemicals are dangerous to handle, but are also time consuming to prepare for sensory. Flavour standards are nano-encapsulated and ready to use from point of purchase.
Using flavour standards, and the AROXA descriptors helps assessors use a common terminology. They can be used to train a panel to describe the same chemical compound using one identifiable language.
Our flavour standards are sensory pure, which therefore allows tasters to identify if they are ‘anosmic’ (smell blind) to specific flavour compounds. Chemicals bought from retailers such as Sigma Aldrich are only 99% pure and will still contain a trace of other odours and tastes. This is a problem because you may believe you are training your panellist on ‘dimethyl sulphide’ for example, yet if they are anosmic to that compound they may pick up something else and identify it as DMS.
A significant advantage to flavour standards is that they can be used by anyone. They do not need to be prepared in a lab / clean room environment, or handled by someone with a scientific background. The capsules simply need to be opened and added to the product to release a smell or odour.
They are also ready to use once opened, ensuring that sensory preparation is not a time consuming task.
Nano-encapsulation ensures that our flavour standards have an average shelf life of 12 months.
They do not need to be refrigerated or stored in a particular way. Just ensure that they are kept in a dry room below 30oC.
HOW to USE THEM?
Flavour standards are easy to use, and safe to smell and taste. To use them, simply open the capsule, and add a capsule to a litre of product. For a further demonstration please see the video below:
Hold capsule upright and tap gently to make sure the powder settles to the bottom of the capsule.
Carefully loosen the two halves of the capsule using a twisting action.
Gentle handling is all that is required
– there is no need to squeeze the capsule.
Remove the top half of the capsule. Be careful not to spill any of the powder.
Pour the entire contents into the
pitcher. Swirl gently.
Wait about two minutes to allow the flavour standard to completely dissolve.
Divide the sample among your assessors, serving approximately 100 ml to each of them.
Evaluate the flavour by first assessing its aroma
– then its taste and after-taste.