Are Italian Wine or Swiss Chocolate Really Better? A Revealing Taste Test
COLUMN by LEE DYE
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
Clark Wine Center is more than a wine shop to people living in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone. Clarkâs wine shop is also a popular venue for parties and family gatherings. Conveniently located on the main highway of Clark Philippines, it is accessible to guests from Manila, Subic, Pampanga, Angeles City and of course those who live and work in Clark. Aside from the 2-storey wine shop which also has a nice roof deck lawn for small party of up to 80 people as well as an indoor wine tasting room which accommodates up to 60 comfortably, this wine store called Clark Wine Center also has one hectare of picnic grounds surrounding it.
Best birthday gift to send to someone living in the Philippines is a nice bottle of wine from Yats Wine Cellars. Delivery of birthday wine can made to Manila, Angeles City Pampanga, Clark Philippines and Subic.
Wine Shop Manila offers best luxurious beers in Philippines called Vintage Beer.
Birthday gift of wine is the most popular gift idea this year in Philippines. Yats Wine Cellars offers birthday wine gifts that are unique and certain to make the recipient very happy. These birthday wines are not available in wine shops so it is a unique bottle of wine for the recipient.
This Manila Wine Shop is the largest wine shop in Philippines. This is the wine shop to go for fine vintage wines, not just the big names like Lafite, Latour, Petrus, Cristal, Krug, Grange, Vega Sicilia and Sassicaia. This wine shop in Manila offers many excellent vintage wine for under p4,000, even for some that are 20-30 year old from St. Emilion and Pomerol.
Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center. Visitors buy wine in Manila and Pampanga should not miss stopping at this wine shop for a few bottles of fine vintage wines to bring home.
http://www.ClarkWineCenter.com
Getting to this wine shop in Pampanga Angeles City Clark Freeport Zone Philippines from Manila
Getting to the Clark Wine Center wine shop from Manila is quite simple: after entering Clark Freeport from Dau and Angeles City, proceed straight along the main highway M A Roxas. Clark Wine Center is the stand-along white building on the right, at the corner A Bonifacio Ave. From the Clark International Airport DMIA, ask the taxi to drive towards the entrance of Clark going to Angeles City. From Mimosa, just proceed towards the exit of Clark and this wine shop is on the opposite side of the main road M A Roxas.
Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.
Clark Wine Center
Bldg 6460 Clark Observatory Building
Manuel A. Roxas Highway corner A Bonifacio Ave,
Angeles Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga 2023
0922-870-5173 0917-826-8790 (ask for Ana Fe)
YATS Wine Cellars
Manila Sales Office
3003C East Tower, Phil Stock Exchange Center,
Exchange Rd Ortigas Metro Manila, Philippines 1605
(632) 637-5019 0917-520-4393 ask for Rea or Chay
Best place to buy wine in Clark Pampanga outside Manila near Subic and Angeles City Philippines is Clark Wine Center.
Wedding couples looking for wedding reception venues and beach wedding venues can log on to this Philippines Wedding Venue web site for free information and assistance:
http://www.PhilippinesWeddingVenue.com
While in Clark, it might be a good idea to enjoy an evening of wine-and-dine in the fine dining Yats Restaurant and Wine Bar that features an award winning 2700-line wine list. It is located in Mimosa Leisure Estate of Clark Freeport Zone. For more information, visit http://www.YatsRestaurant.com
YATS Leisure Philippines is a developer and operator of clubs, resorts and high-class restaurants and wine shops in Clark Angeles Philippines http://www.yatsleisure.com
Looking for famous tourists spots, places to visit and see, relax and unwind in Clark, Pampanga, Philippines? You may want to check out these sites also:
http://www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com
http://www.ClarkPhilippines.com
http://www.YatsWineCellars.com
Yats Restaurant is an excellent Restaurant to dine, a restaurant with good food, a good place to have birthday party and special events. A Kid-friendly restaurants in Manila
Famous Restaurant in Pampanga, a place to dine with friends in Clark, cozy restaurant with a nice ambience, a nice function place for special occassions
www.YatsRestaurant.com
Where to go in Clark? Hotel Clark Philippines is a De Luxe Hotel in Clark and Subic, a risk free place to stay, cozy and nice ambience, a nice function place for special occassion
www.HotelClarkPhilippines.com
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