Vanilla Level 4 Coffee + Vanilla Soy Milk + Shape sweetener = The Perfect Dining Hall Coffee
Our group shared what we each found from parallel tastings with our respective components: Alex – Coffee, Anne – Milk, and Stella – Sugar. Alex determined that Vanilla Level 4 Coffee was the best coffee; Anne determined that vanilla soy milk was the best milk for coffee; and Stella determined that Shape sweetener was the best sugar for coffee (see individual posts for details).
We combined these three “best” ingredients to create this perfect dining hall coffee; however, the coffee turned out to be pretty average based on our ratings. We evaluated the coffee primarily on the three senses of sight, smell, and taste.
Overall Average Rating: 6.33
Alex – 5/10 > SIGHT – Medium brown color; SMELL – lighter smell than coffee; TASTE – weak taste that is thicker and sweeter than Vanilla Level 4 Coffee on its own, no bitterness & smooth on the tongue
Anne – 7/10 > SIGHT – Light brown color; SMELL – sweeter and more subdued smell of coffee; TASTE – thicker consistency that tastes more like vanilla soy milk than coffee
Stella – 7/10 > SIGHT – Medium brown color; SMELL – light smell that initially smells like sweet vanilla but a more bitter coffee “aftersmell”; TASTE – reflects the smell in a sweet and smooth initial taste and a slightly bitter aftertaste
Overall, this coffee seemed to be too watered down by addition of Vanilla Soy Milk and Shape sweetener such that it lost its essence as Vanilla Level 4 Coffee. It seems as though picking the best ingredients doesn’t necessarily result in a perfectly combined dining hall coffee. It was an interesting experiment, but ultimately it was difficult to determine what best complemented the coffee flavor independent of tasting the coffee itself and trying it all together!
