Mmmmmmm!

Introduction
With so many ice cream parlors in town, how is a hot, hungry ice cream lover supposed to know where to go? Chocolate ice cream, in particular, is hard to do just right. It must be sweet, but not too sweet. It should be creamy, but still have a good consistency. It might contain other flavors, but none should be overpowering. And everybody knows exactly what it should taste like. The IDS Weekend decided to put the ice cream on the line. Methods and Materials
Six samples of ice cream in neutral packaging White plastic spoons Napkins Subjects
Eleven tasters, all IDS staffers, five female, six male, ranging in age from 19 to 26. Procedure
Six samples of ice cream were collected from various parlors around town. The ice cream was placed in neutral packaging and labeled with letters only. The tasters did not know where each sample was from, or which ice cream parlors were represented. Eleven taste testers were given spoons and encouraged to respond appropriately to the samples. Results
The parlors chosen to participate were (in alphabetic order) Bruster's, Coldstone Creamery, the Chocolate Moose, Jiffy Treet, Maggie Moo's and White Mountain Ice Cream Company. The results are as follows: Bruster's: One taster said "The more you eat of it, the better it tastes." It was noted several times for not being overly sweet, which appealed for several tasters. This sample was also noted for a strong coffee taste. Several tasters liked the combination of chocolate and coffee flavors, but one taster said "If I wanted coffee ice cream, I'd get coffee ice cream." Coldstone Creamery: Noted for being "classic chocolate." One taster noticed cheesecake-like notes, and several said that this sample balanced the mild bitterness of chocolate with the proper amount of sweetness. It was variously described as "creamy," "nice and chocolatey" and "smooth." The Chocolate Moose: One taster said, "This tastes like chocolate ice cream should, like I'm a little kid again." For several other tasters, though, this sample did not fare as well. One noted it as "chalky" and two others called it "bland." Several appreciated, though, that it was not overly sweet. Jiffy Treet: This sample's notable trait was its consistency. Called variously "thick" and "chewy," several tasters indicated that they tasted notes of caramel. Some testers found the flavor weak, although it was debated that it simply was not overflavored. Maggie Moo's: The winning sample. It was variously described as "sweet," "creamy," "the perfect chocolate" and "wonderful." One taster simply said, "This just makes me happy." Several tasters were stumped as to why exactly they like this sample the best -- they just did. White Mountain
Ice Creamery: One taster said "This sample is for chocolate lovers." This sample was found to taste the most like real chocolate, and one taster indicated that they tasted bits of actual chocolate. One taster noted a slightly bitter aftertaste, but most appreciated the slight dark-chocolate flavorings of this sample. Conclusion
The researchers can only recommend that each ice cream fan decide what matters to them. Is it creaminess the fan craves? Try Coldstone Creamery. Is it exotic flavors? Try White Mountain or Bruster's. Each taster had positive things to say about many of the samples, but many had negative things to say. What is important, the researchers discovered, is the flavor.