11 Facts that Reveal the Secret Life of A Dunkin Donuts Coffee Taster

We know what your thinking, doesn’t Dunkin Donuts serve everyone’s favourite donut? Yes, they do. they serve some of best donuts we have ever had the pleasure of tasting, but they also have some of the better brews for your morning fix-me-up. 

This has led to chain becoming one of the most popular coffee stops. However, this doesn’t come easy. To keep quality high, Dunkin’ Donuts employs two chief taste-testers who over see the entire coffee operation. Recently, The Boston Globe interviewed Hélène Marsot, one of the two people that hold the highly caffeinated position, and revealed a slew of interesting facts about the coffee taste-testing process.

If you’re thinking, being a coffee-taster is a pretty cool job, jinx! Here’s what the life of a coffee-taster looks like. 

1. It’s a full-time job

Since there are two chief coffee-tasters, its a pretty demanding job. Their job is to ensure that “millions of cups of coffee the company serves each day taste exactly the same.” We repeat, exactly the same. 

2. They drink a lot of coffee

The chief taste-testers taste about 100 cups of coffee each week. That’s a lot of coffee, a lot!

3. They take their job very seriously.

Sometimes they drink up to 100 glasses on a single day. Good luck sleeping after that! 

4. Research, Research and Research 

Dunkin Donuts sets up labs in nearly every country from which it buys coffee. There, other taste-testers and machines “determine the moisture content and other measurable qualities of the beans.”

5. They are extremely thorough 

Once the beans travel cross-country to the place for brewing, the taste testers must taste the coffee again as a measure of quality control. 

6. Rank the Coffee 

Coffee tasters score the coffee on a scale of 1 to 7 for a series of attributes like aroma, sweetness, body, and balance.

7. If it isn’t good, out it goes

If just one attribute in one cup of coffee is out of range, the entire cargo ship container that the sample cup came from will be shipped back to the roaster. Where does all the coffee go?

8. You need to be qualified

One of the chief taste-testers has a degree in food microbiology and sensory evaluation. She also worked as a spirit taste-tester and worked in quality assurance at a ham factory.

9. It isn’t as easy as drinking coffee

Because the coffee is sourced from multiple countries, it’s difficult to ensure each cup has the “same taste.”

10. Trained on the job 

It takes a taster almost 3 years to perfect their sensory sensitivities so they can detect specific scents in coffee.

11. You need to be objective 

Dunkin’ Donuts requires that three trained testers sample each cup of coffee to “help eliminate personal differences.”

Fascinating, isn’t it? Would it be a career option for you?