Consumer perceptions, attitudes and acceptance of new and traditional mate tea products.

• Autor(a) principal: GODOY, R. C. B. de
• Data de Publicação: 2013
• Outros Autores: DELIZA, R., GHENO, L. B., LICODIEDOFF, S., FRIZON, C. N. T., RIBANI, R. H., SANTOS, G. G. dos
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Institucional da EMBRAPA (Repository Open Access to Scientific Information from EMBRAPA - Alice)
• Texto Completo: http://www.alice.cnptia.embrapa.br/alice/handle/doc/964659
• topic: Erva mate; Chá mate; Infusão; Teste de consumo; Mate tea; Infusion; Preference; Consumer; Ilex Paraguariensis

Consumption of teas has been increasing around the world. In Brazil, mate tea, prepared from yerba mate ( Ilex paraguariensis ), is the most popular tea and its popularity is increasing due to the development of new mate-based products and the increasing health consciousness of the Brazilian population. Further develop- ment of the mate market in Brazil requires accurate consumer pro fi ling, focusing on tea drinking behavior, preferences and perceptions. We applied a questionnaire to mate tea consumers to assess their beliefs, con- sumption behavior, and taste preferences. We also explored the acceptability of tea made from yerba mate processed in different ways: immediately after harvest and after eight months of storage, varying the percent- age of leaves and sticks. One hundred consumers evaluated six experimental samples and two commercial mate teas. Results indicated that mate was most consumed in tea bag form, followed by ice teas. The preferred fl avors were natural and lemon. Most of the consumers (61%) consumed mate with sugar, drinking it at home before bedtime. Product quality, brand and price were the most important aspects taken into account when purchasing mate.Themajority ofconsumers werenotsatis fi edwiththe productscurrently offered inthe mar- ket, andthe main criticism waspoor quality and packaging. Consumers accepted all tasted samples, except the tea preparedwith 100%sticks. Commercial teaswere lesspreferred than theexperimental teas,indicating that there are opportunities for further development of commercially viable mate products