I read the article about ‘Valerian’ recently posted by Alex.
The article explains there’s a difference between “species, batches, methods of extraction, active compounds, as well as external factors such as time of harvest, location, and storage conditions, (meaning) the therapeutic properties of Valerian can differ completely.”
Which really explains the complexity of working with plants and the need for sofi using fingerprinting technology to ensure consistency in the product. A great new solution to this problem. However it does beg the questions where this same situation is occurring in many different products (and indeed has grave implications for the coffee snob I’m sure!).
Where do you think this this has an impact in your life and the products you’re using?
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l totally agree and am always wondering about consistency - especially in mass production of goods. In addition to the consistency of ingredients, I also wonder about the metabolic responses (particularly hormonal changes, enzymatic differences, malabsorption issues, etc) of the people who are ingesting… I also think that one’s taste can be altered thwarting the perception of consistency depending on hormonal changes as well as shifting viral loads for those dealing with viruses particularly chronic ones like HSV, HIV, and, now, Covid - all of which wreak havoc on sleep too! But I digress…
As a user of medical Marijuana in the past and many CBD products I have found many inconsistencies in product effect not just between different brands with same ingredients but also within same products that appear to be exact… I have chalked that off many times to my own hormonal variations but found a couple of product lines that seem to be consistent despite that… which, I am not sure I can mention here(?). Nevertheless, I tend to stick by those that are consistent and feel good about referring them for use to others.
I do notice inconsistent taste with coffee too 
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Hi @kaneary , you’re welcome to discuss other products on here. We’re confident in what we do and can understand that sometimes combinations of products create the best results. N-of-1 after all 
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I don’t notice the inconsistent taste of coffee since I don’t like anything coffee or mocha. 
My senses of taste and smell are pretty much shot (the Drs think it’s related to my allergies) but I can still often taste the difference between brands.
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As a farmer, I can tell you not one crop is ever the same we can’t control the weather. Rain, sun, dry, bugs, weeds we can’t control it all. So we strive to a good end product at the end. And unless you grow your crops in a green house nature rules. 🤷
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If you’re developing a synthetic product, once you master the ‘recipe’ you’ll most likely have consistency as they are stable and processed and chemicals and even raw materials can be sourced at a certain grade. In terms of flavour it’s even easier once the manufacturer nails their composition.
I agree though that with natural products there’s barely anywhere to hide!
That’s why Protected Designation of Origin is so important. But with global warming I can see that becoming less reliable too. As @sonja.ekkers.77 mentioned, no harvest is the same. So to deliver consistent results one has to master not just their sourcing but blending, as it works with coffee. I’m not a coffee snob, I pretty much drink any kind of coffee but I notice difference in taste , and as anything, people have a range of tolerance when it comes to taste. For example, wine lovers, I’m sure it’s great to have a nice expensive bottle once in a while, but they’ll drink the supermarket alternative if it’s within an acceptable taste range and enjoy it.
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Very interesting comments from fellow treehouse participants! Thanks for sharing your insights.
Questions I have: how do local specifics alter perception of taste? Food companies often change/alter local flavors to meet the specific taste-buds of the local population. Someone in Asia might have different preferences vs someone growing up/living in the States. So where does individuality start? Where is it a matter of regional flavors? Will this be important for the formulations Sofi is developing?
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Ahhh - great questions! I read a study recently that I think illustrates this well: Sniffing out cultural differences: Olfactory perception influenced by background and semantic information -- ScienceDaily
To summarise the key findings: A group of neuroscientists in Canada wanted to find out to what extent cultural differences could alter an individual’s perception of smell.
Two groups (French participants and French-Canadian participants) were asked to rank scents such as anise, lavender, maple, wintergreen, rose and strawberry according to their pleasantness, intensity, familiarity, and edibility - without knowing what they were.
The most significant difference?
They found that the French ranked the wintergreen scent much lower in pleasantness than the French-Canadians. The reason why being that in France wintergreen is used more in medicinal products, whereas in Canada it can more commonly be found in candy.
In this case, we see the exact same scent quite possibly resulting in disgust for one culture and an increase appetite for another! Fascinating stuff.
In terms of sofi and the Pioneer Program ,we have three different flavours to trial and give feedback on in the S1, helping us shape the flavour of the formulations in the future. Taste is, well… a matter of personal taste! - providing sofi with a key opportunity to learn, indeed, what might be preferential to people in all different parts of the world
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Wow, this is so cool - thank you for sharing!! I have noticed just from living in different states within the US not just that the types of foods vary from state to state but that, indeed, some of the same foods, at chain restaurants, for example, that “should” taste the same but seem to have slight variation in flavor and I have wondered if there was formulation in food prep, spices, sauces, oils, etc used that are different to tailor to the locals…
All so fascinating! Thank you for sharing this 
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