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How It Works
At a glance
Each product follows a defined path: check the product, prepare it as people normally experience it, conceal its identity, collect independent responses, discuss the sensory evidence and apply the predefined decision rules.
The product must be food or drink for people, capable of blind presentation and able to reach the panel in a representative condition. The intended consumer group and any participation restrictions must also be clear.
The entry identifies the recipe, flavour, format and other details that materially define what is being assessed. A result cannot quietly expand to a different product or to the producer's whole range.
The public category reflects how the product is normally understood and consumed. Preparation follows its ordinary use: brewed, heated, chilled, diluted, cooked or served directly as appropriate.
Neutral carriers may be used where they are part of ordinary consumption, but they must reveal the product rather than improve it. See preparation and category methods.
Sample identity, condition, storage and preparation are recorded. Brand names, identity-bearing packaging, price and commercial reputation are withheld from assessors before they record their response.
Serving order is controlled so that one product is not unfairly helped or harmed by what came before it. Understand blind assessment.
Each assessor independently answers:
How much do you enjoy the taste experience of this product as presented?
This Overall Liking response is recorded before discussion. Every eligible response has equal weight.
After independent responses are recorded, assessors discuss what shaped the experience. Aroma, flavour, texture, balance, development and finish provide the evidence behind the comment.
Technical knowledge can clarify what people perceived. It cannot convert a product they did not enjoy into an award winner.
Assessment begins with eight valid responses. Products supported for higher recognition move through stages of twelve and sixteen; the Three-Star pathway reaches twenty-four. Consumer-side assessors remain the majority throughout.
The outcome is checked against the predefined rules and supported by a product comment. A published award identifies the exact product, star, category and current status so that the claim can be verified.
Assessment records are preserved separately from the public result. A review can correct a process, calculation, identity or publication error; it does not replace an honest preference with a more convenient one.
The star begins with enjoyment, not technical perfection.
