Copy of Drinks Producers
Sensory Skills are the foundation of ;
- innovative Product Development and
- high Product Quality via the Production of consistent Flavour Profiles.
However, finding access to, and conducting, Professional Training for these key Sensory Skills is very often a significant challenge.
Although there are some excellent general Training and Education Programmes available for the production of Spirits, Wines, Beers and other beverages, our customers tell us that the Training and Education of the key practical Sensory Skills is a vital element that is often inadequately addressed.
"It is our mission at the Aroma Academy to enable the Training and Development of these key foundation Sensory Skills via a series of Training Materials, including Self-Learn Sensory Training Kits, and Training and Competency/Proficiency Programmes."
What do our customers tell us they want?
- Practical, meaningful Training and Education in the development of Sensory Skills and understanding of Flavour Profiles
- Relevant Sensory Training Materials
- Aroma/Flavour Reference Standards that are applicable to their products and brands and which are accurate and stable
- Tools and Systems to allow the objective Assessment/Screening of Sensory Competence relevant to their Products and Brands for individuals and internal Sensory Panels
- Tools and Systems to allow the ongoing objective Assessment of Sensory Competence – both to ensure consistency of Product Quality and demonstrate compliance with Quality Management Systems
What do we provide?
Self-Learn
We understand that it is not always practical to attend one of our Training Programmes so we have developed a series of Self-Learn Aroma Reference Sensory Training Kits which allow you train at your own pace to develop these vital Sensory Skills in the office, laboratory or at home.
These Self-Learn Sensory Training Kits not only include a series of our acclaimed Aroma Reference Standards - specially designed and developed for individual drinks categories – but also include an informative Guide Booklet with information regarding the Standards and, importantly, the unique Aroma Academy Sensory Training Methodology.
Our series of Self-Learn Kits, including the Reference Standards, are currently available for Whisky, Bourbon, Wine, Gin, Rum and Faults.
We also produce bespoke Reference Standards Kits to meet the needs of individual company product types and brands.
Please view our Bespoke Projects Page or more information.
Online E-Learning Sensory Training – Foundation Programme
The online E-Learning Sensory Training Programme was developed to improve access to our Sensory Training as we are only able to offer a limited number of class room based Training sessions each year.
Participants are sent a Physical Standards Training Kit in addition to gaining online access to the course content. The online E-Learning option allows participants, anywhere in the world, access to the Aroma Academy Sensory Training Programme and allows progress at your own pace - at the time of your choosing.
The first E-Learning programme that we now offer online is the Foundation Programme which covers the same material as the Class Room Foundation Sensory Programme (see below) but with the content tailored and specially designed for online learning. As you progress through the online content, you are prompted to engage with the accompanying Standards Training Kit. There is an optional Assessment Module at the end of the programme.
This online E-Learning Foundation Level Sensory Training Programme is generic in approach with respect to drinks and provides important Sensory Foundation learning for anyone in the drinks business.
On completion of the Foundation programme, you will have significantly improved your ability to detect, identify and articulate flavour profiles.
Class Room Training
We provide a series of class room based Training Programmes– all focused on the Training and Development of Sensory Skills.
This Training includes Foundation Sensory Understanding, how Aromas/Flavours behave, our unique Sensory Training Methodology, Sensory Practice, Flavour Profiling, typical Flavour Faults and an introduction to Sensory Competency/Proficiency.
We conduct a combination of classes open to all and, more often, company specific sessions tailored to the needs of individual customers.
We count some of the leading “blue-chip” companies in the drinks industry amongst our customer base for both the Training Programmes and the associated Reference Standards that are used both in the Training & Competency Programmes and in ongoing Product Quality Monitoring.
Please contact us for more information.
Sensory Competence/Proficiency Programmes
We provide the tools and systems to allow ;
- objective assessment screen testing of personnel with regard to Sensory Skills
- objective assessment of on-going Sensory Competency/Proficiency
The Competency/Proficiency Programmes are tailored to individual drinks categories and companies.
The system allows drinks producers to train, screen test and, crucially, on-going monitor the sensory capability of key production and sensory panel staff to detect, identify and articulate key flavour elements.
The system includes ;
- Set of Standards that are ‘spiked’ into the beverage for initial training and testing
- Quarterly Standards Test Sets
- Quarterly Test Reports of performance including, crucially, not only your own company’s participant performance but also the anonymised data for all participants from all companies in the scheme (example graph extracts are shown below.)
Please contact us for more information.
Summary
In summary, we provide a complete holistic solution for Sensory Skills including ;
- initial Sensory Training and relevant Training & Education Materials
- provision of Reference Standards
- provision of objective Competency/Proficiency Screening
- provision of ongoing Competency/Proficiency Maintenance Testing
- enabling integration with QC Product Quality Monitoring and overall Quality Management Systems
all tailored to your individual company needs.
Please contact us for more information.