Color and Perceived Taste

Does the color of a food or beverage affect the way people perceive its taste? The subjects of an experiment were divided at random into two groups. Each subject was asked to taste a sample of tea and rate the taste as not very good, acceptable, or very good. Subjects assigned to the first group were asked to taste and rate lemon tea. Subjects in the second group were asked to taste and rate lemon tea that had been colored purple by adding food coloring. The subjects rating of the tea flavor is captured in the following table:

1. Carry out an appropriate test to determine if the proportion for each of the three taste rating categories is the same when the color is altered as for when the color is not altered.
   1. Summarize the hypotheses, the test, and the findings. Justify the selection of the test and discuss its limitations.
   2. Discuss the reasons behind the methods used to set up the tests the way you did.

Taste Rating Treatment Not Very Good Acceptable Very Good Unaltered Color, yellow 8 6 12 Altered Color, purple 54 62 58 Taste Rating Treatment Not Very Good Acceptable Very Good Unaltered Color, yellow 8 6 12 Altered Color, purple 54 62 58