Are Italian Wine or Swiss Chocolate Really Better? A Revealing Taste Test
August 21, 2011
Can Chinese chocolate taste better than those incredibly delicious morsels from Switzerland, the center of the chocolate universe? Can cheap wine from India taste better than that pricy stuff from California’s Napa Valley?
That depends on what you know, and when you learned it, according to a new study that also shows, once again, just how easy it is to fool the human brain.
Marketing researcher Keith Wilcox and colleagues at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., conducted a series of experiments showing that a little information can have the opposite of the desired effect if it is delivered after a taste test instead of before. In a nutshell, here’s what the study, to be published in the Journal of Consumer Research, says:
Tell someone the chocolate they are about to taste came from Switzerland, and sure enough, they will like it better than the chocolate from China. Tell that same person where the chocolate came from just after they’ve tasted it, and they will swear the stuff from China tastes better.
Ditto for wine.
Wilcox, who considers himself a consumer psychologist, said during a telephone interview that the research shows that the information changed the person’s “actual perception of taste” depending on whether it was presented before or after the taste test. A total of 528 students took part in the experiments, and they really did like China’s chocolate better than the premium stuff — but only if they learned of its origin after tasting it, he said.
And 64 customers at a Boston liquor store said they preferred wine from India, not known for its great vineyards, to wine that purportedly came from Italy, which produces some very fine wines indeed — though, again, they were not told the origin of either until they had sampled it.
But here’s the punch line: none of the chocolate came from Switzerland or China. It came from Trader Joe’s, and the same chocolate was used in all the experiments. The wine was “ambiguous in terms of taste,” according to the study. It sold for $15.99 per bottle.
Why would being told the origin immediately after the taste test alter the perception of quality? Wilcox said the element of surprise might be part of the reason. During the peer review process, some reviewers thought economics might have figured in more than the timing of the information, but Wilcox insists that isn’t so.
“People may have expected the price to be lower, but if it was really just an expectation of lower price we would have expected them to prefer the Chinese chocolate both before and after” the taste test, he said. If they knew the chocolate was from Switzerland before tasting it, they liked it better than the chocolate from China, even though it was exactly the same candy.
But if they were told the origin just after tasting the chocolate, they preferred the dark stuff from China over the chocolate from Switzerland, even though it was really the same stuff.
The participants who tasted the chocolate before they knew where it came from probably really thought both pieces were about the same. But when they learned one came from China, they would have expected it to taste inferior to the famous stuff from Switzerland, and “it was much better than they would have expected it to be,” Wilcox said.
Thus they judged the “Chinese” chocolate tastier, even though it was the same stuff.
Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/taste-test-wine-chocolate-preferences-shaped-taste/story?id=14108761
Best restaurant in Pampanga wins international award from Wine Spectator for best restaurant one of the best wine lists in the world, as wine lovers from Manila, Hong Kong and China take note and plan for a visit to this fine dining establishment whenever they visit the Philippines, Subic, Angeles City, Pampanga or Clark Philippines
Vegans and vegetarians are not the only ones to applaud this move to revamp and upgrade the vegetarian menu of the best restaurant in Pampanga. Even meat lovers are excited by the prospect of enjoying a delectable meal comprised of healthy vegetarian dishes, a good reprieve from their usual meat laden meals. Wine lovers applaud the effort of this restaurant in Clark Pampanga to pair gourmet vegetarian recipes with fine vintage wines.
Yats Restaurant is the best restaurant for special dinner, best restaurant for dinner with friends near Manila, also the best place to celebrate special events.
A Well-known Restaurant in Pampnga, an interesting place to celebrate Birthday Party in Pampnga.
A best place to dine with friends in Pampanga
Restaurant in Clark Pampanga revamps menu, adding delectable dishes at affordable, wine friendly too, certainly a great place to eat while in Pampanga. Vegans, vegetarians and health conscious diners welcome the news that Yats Leisure has upgraded its vegetarian menu of fine dining Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar in Clark. At the same time, this restaurant in Pampanga also makes the healthy cuisine wine friendly for the wine lovers in Manila, Clark, Pampanga. The guests that frequently visit this top rated restaurant in Angeles City, Clark Philippines, for this special menu are not only vegetarians and vegans but also meat lovers who welcome a reprieve from their usual meat laden diets to enjoy a delectable vegetarian meal. Yats is generally considered the best restaurant for gourmet vegetarian food. Wine lovers are particularly excited about the fact that these recipes are designed to pair splendidly with wine.
For comments, inquiries and reservations click on Click here for inquiry and reservations
Restaurant@Yats-International.com
(045) 599-5600
0922-870-5178
0917-520-4401
Ask for Pedro and Rechel
Getting to this fine dining restaurant of Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Pampanga Philippines
How to get to this fine-dining restaurant in Clark Philippines? Once you get to Clark Freeport, go straight until you hit Mimosa. After you enter Mimosa, stay on the left on Mimosa Drive, go past the Holiday Inn and Yats Restaurant (green top, independent 1-storey structure) is on your left. Just past the Yats Restaurant is the London Pub.
Yats Restaurant & Wine Bar
Mimosa Drive past Holiday Inn, Mimosa Leisure Estate,
Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga, Philippines 2023
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 Rea or Chay
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