College Students’ Preferences for Commercial Ready-To-Drink Jasmine Black Tea: Sensory Approach

Abstract

The growth of ready-to-drink (RTD) jasmine black tea in Indonesia is increasing due to its unique flavor and convenience. This research aimed to investigate the preferences of college students, representing Gen Z as the second largest demographic proportion, across commercial RTD jasmine black teas (coded as SSX, PHZ, GLA, and KTO) using 3-point JAR (Just-About-Right) scales. As many as 101 consumers participated in assessing five sensory attributes (jasmine aroma, sweetness, bitterness, tea flavor, and astringency) and overall liking. The most penalized attributes impacting product performance were identified using penalty analysis. In contrast, the association between the JAR level of sensory attributes and overall liking across samples was explored using PCA (Principal Component Analysis). The overall penalty showed that tea aroma and astringency influenced the overall liking for all samples. Jasmine aroma and bitterness showed no effect on KTO liking, while only GLA liking was unaffected by sweetness. PCA biplot explained that the GLA sample had the strongest correlation with overall liking as represented by JAR level of tea flavor, astringency, jasmine aroma, and sweetness but was slightly influenced by JAR level of bitterness. It could be concluded that GLA was a sample with the optimum preferences perceived by college students.