Thursday, February 21, 2008

New machine to replace human taste testers?

The Nestlé Research Center in Switzerland has created a machine that serves as a "taste tester," measuring the aromatic qualities of espresso and coffee. It analyzes and assesses chemical information of the espresso into qualities like acidity and woody-ness (see image). The researchers have conducted several studies on replacing human sensory profiling and believe they have finally done it.

I don't know how I feel about this machine. I think assessing coffee quality is a matter of personal preference. I realize I am bias, but I don't think machines should replace every human experience.

What do you think?

1 comments:

Unknown said...

Yes, but can it love coffee?