Division 9.1.1 The tasters shall pick up the glass, keeping it covered with the watch-glass, and shall bend it gently; they shall then rotate the glass fully in this position so as to wet the inside as much as possible. Once this stage is completed, they shall remove the watch-glass and smell the sample, taking slow deep breaths to evaluate the oil. Smelling should not exceed 30 seconds. If no conclusion has been reached during this time, they shall take a short rest before trying again.F1F2

When the olfactory test has been performed, the tasters shall then evaluate the buccal sensations (overall retronasal olfactory, gustatory and tactile sensations). To do so, they shall take a small sip of approximately 3 ml of oil. It is very important to distribute the oil throughout the whole of the mouth cavity, from the front part of the mouth and tongue along the sides to the back part and to the palate support and throat, since it is a known fact that the perception of tastes and tactile sensations varies in intensity depending on the area of the tongue, palate and throat.

It should be stressed that it is essential for a sufficient amount of the oil to be spread very slowly over the back of the tongue towards the palate support and throat while the taster concentrates on the order in which the bitter and pungent stimuli appear. If this is not done, both of these stimuli may escape notice in some oils or else the bitter stimulus may be obscured by the pungent stimulus.

Taking short, successive breaths, drawing in air through the mouth, enables the taster not only to spread the sample extensively over the whole of the mouth but also to perceive the volatile aromatic compounds via the back of the nose by forcing the use of this channel.

The tactile sensation of pungency should be taken into consideration. For this purpose it is advisable to ingest the oil.