COFFEE SYMPHONY: EXAMINING THE INFLUENCE OF BACKGROUND MUSIC ON NATIVE COFFEE FLAVOR

This research aimed to investigate the impact of background music on the taste perception of native coffee. The study involved 30 coffee drinkers from the faculty and staff of West Visayas State University as participants. Different music genres, including classical, ballad, jazz, and pop, were utilized during the study conducted throughout the school year 2023-2024. Participants were selected using the purposive sampling method, and the research employed a quasi-experimental design with treatments replicated three times. A researcher-made sensory evaluation score sheet was used to collect data for the study, and statistical analysis involved mean, standard deviation, and t-tests, with an alpha level of .05 used as the criterion for accepting or rejecting the null hypothesis. Statistical computations were conducted using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. The results indicated that, before exposure to background music, participants perceived the taste of brewed native coffee as moderately subtle, regardless of whether they were considered as a whole group or classified by gender and age. Interestingly, females found the taste to be very subtle. When exposed to different types of background music, participants generally found the taste of brewed native coffee to be moderately subtle, except for older individuals exposed to classical music and all participants exposed to ballad music, who found the taste to be very subtle. Prior to exposure to background music, all participants perceived the aroma of native coffee as very nutty. When exposed to different types of background music, most participants found the aroma to be very subtle, with exceptions noted for females exposed to classical music and males exposed to jazz music, who rated the aroma as moderately nutty. No significant differences were observed in the taste and aroma of native coffee among participants when classified by gender and age. Overall, this study sheds light on the influence of background music on the taste and aroma perception of brewed native coffee, providing valuable insights into sensory experiences and preferences among coffee drinkers.