Effects of Cognitive Style and Evaluation Context on Hedonic and Sensory Perception of Café Latte: A Comparison of Sensory Booth, Real-Life, and Mixed Reality Environments

This study examined cognitive style-related differences (analytic vs. holistic) in consumer liking, sensory perception, and ideal sensory profiles across three evaluation contexts (real café, sensory booth, and mixed reality). A total of 77 participants were divided into an analytic group (N = 34) and a holistic group (N = 43) based on the Analysis–Holism Scale. They evaluated six café latte samples varying in sugar concentration (0, 2.5, 5%) and espresso-to-milk ratio (1:2 and 1:3) for three environments using a within-subject design. Consumer evaluation comprised overall liking and sensory perception assessed using CATA (25 attributes) and Ideal CATA, with descriptive analysis (DA) conducted in parallel by eight trained panelists. The results showed no significant differences between cognitive styles in overall liking, but differences appeared in sensory perception and ideal product mapping between the booth and real café. The analytic group focused on dominant attributes with little variation for environments, whereas the holistic group integrated contextual cues, showing more context-dependent patterns. Compared with the other two environments, the MR environment showed high similarity to the DA results in terms of attribute profiles (RV = 0.88). This study indicates that cognitive style is a key factor in consumer sensory evaluation and should be considered to improve sensory evaluation methodology.