Fruit juice beverages must contain a minimum fruit content between 6 and 30 %, depending on the type of fruit used. Furthermore, in addition to sugar or artificial sweeteners, aroma extracts and natural aromas may be employed.
This method describes the procedure for evaluating non-alcoholic beverages using the DLG tasting scheme.
non-alcoholic beverages (soft drinks, beverages containing fruit juice)
The DLG Tasting Scheme for Non-alcoholic Soft Drinks is divided into the following four sections:
appearance/clarity
aroma
flavor
harmony
The total score only takes the attribute groups aroma, flavor and harmony into consideration. Any conspicuous characteristics of the appearance are recorded as comments.
the characteristics of the aroma are a measure for the authenticity or distinctiveness of the declared aroma. Since consumers encounter the product together with the label and the product description including, if applicable, the perceived color of the product, the product must fulfill the sensory expectations of consumers, otherwise they may not be willing to buy it a second time. In this way, the complete impression of the product must correspond to the aroma conveyed by the product
a fruity impression is a basic characteristic of non-alcoholic beverages; however, an inherently low fruit content should, of course, be reflected in an evaluation of this category
the terms “pure” and “clean” can be considered a generic term for lacking off-flavors. A perfect score is given for the aroma, if it is found to be free of any off-aromas
from the standpoint of consumers, under “typical”, they understand an authentic impression of a certain aroma, i.e., an apple-flavored fruit drink should be recognizable as a product containing apples by consumers without looking at the label
in this example, “fresh” reflects the “natural” aspect of the product, i.e., the aroma should correspond to that of the natural ingredient. However, concessions are unavoidable for certain product categories and for legal restrictions (especially regarding the juice content)
the attribute “one-sided” describes a beverage which is disproportionately skewed towards a single, typical aroma characteristic, without regard for any balancing aroma notes
any foreign notes in the aroma and flavor should result in points being deducted. This does not necessarily refer to off-aromas but can merely mean unexpected fruit notes
degradation of the aroma or flavor to such an extent that it is sensorially perceptible can result in fewer points being given in the category which includes the term “oxidation”
fewer points may also be awarded for “flat", "stale” or “dull/musty” overtones
likewise, (unnaturally) over-aromatized beverages may also be given fewer points
unusually intense manifestations of the basic flavors normally found in soft drinks can be noted under “sweet”, “sour” (or too acidic) and “bitter”
an uncharacteristically penetrating astringent note should especially be recorded if it is associated with bitter components or sour citrus products
within the context of the overall score, the final assessment of the “harmony” should take into account the observations made about the previous attributes
It can be problematic for one single tasting scheme, which spans more than one category, to be used to define a group as heterogeneous as soft drinks. Practical experience shows that considering the three most important product groups (orange, lemon and cola) of soft drinks alone requires a quite diverse and distinctive set of descriptors and applicable quality criteria, which may only partially be encompassed by the rather general criteria of the tasting scheme.