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FORT COLLINS, Colorado, March 16, 2021 – Perfume on the Radio, a broadcast series by the Los Angeles-based Institute for Art and Olfaction, features Headspace Sensory found Avery N. Gilbert, Ph.D. in its latest installment. In Episode 5, titled “The Vice Show,” host Saskia Wilson-Brown talks with Gilbert about the aromas of cannabis. The episode can be heard here; Gilbert’s segment begins about 16 minutes in.
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FORT COLLINS, Colorado, March 12, 2021 –The Cannabis Chemistry Subdivision of the American Chemical Society will host Headspace Sensory found Avery N. Gilbert, Ph.D. in its monthly Journal Club live webinar on March 25.
The topic of Gilbert’s presentation is “Cannabis terpenes: Cultivar markers, aroma sources, or active ingredients?” The live webinar and the Q&A session following Gilbert’s presentation will be moderated by Nigam B. Arora, Ph.D.
The webinar is begins at 11:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. It is free and open to the public who can register ahead of time at this link.
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FORT COLLINS, Colorado, February 13, 2021 – An article on the chemistry and perception of cannabis terpenes by Headspace Sensory founder Avery N. Gilbert, Ph.D. has been published in the January/February issue of Terpenes & Testing magazine. In the article, Gilbert describes some fundamental principles of odor perception and how they apply to the bouquet of terpenes found in cannabis flower. One important lesson: the sheer abundance of a given terpene doesn’t tell us much about its contribution to a flower’s overall aroma.
Gilbert also describes his dream of creating a cannabis aroma map on which individual cultivars are arranged according to smell similarity. He believes that sensory evaluation—sniff testing—has a major role to play in segmenting the cannabis consumer market, and that the development of a common descriptive lexicon will help the industry communicate more effectively with its customers.
A copy of Gilbert’s article is available on request to media ((at)) headspacesensory.com.
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FORT COLLINS, Colorado, August 12, 2020 – Headspace Sensory founder Avery N. Gilbert, Ph.D. today delivered a 30 minute virtual presentation to the annual conference of the Institute of Cannabis Research. The ICR, based at Colorado State University at Pueblo, is one of the world’s leading forums for scientific research on all aspects of cannabis. Gilbert’s talk, titled “The aroma of Cannabis: Chemical, commercial, and legal aspects,” brought listeners up to date on the sensory science of weed and its practical implications.
Gilbert spoke about the emerging picture of cannabis aroma profiles. Individual strains exhibit consistent scents, and at the same time tend to fall into two markedly different clusters. One cluster smells citrus, lemon, sweet, and pungent; the other smells earthy, woody, and herbal. While these aromas are likely attributable to the naturally occurring volatile terpenes in cannabis flower, Gilbert cautioned that chemical analysis is not a substitute for quantitative odor description. This is because the most abundant terpene may have very little odor impact, while a terpene present in trace amounts can have a major impact.
Gilbert discussed how sensory evaluation can play a key role in product development, claim substantiation, and consumer segmentation in the cannabis industry. He then described results of a new study on the ability of consumers to smell cannabis through various forms of packaging. The results showed that some forms of packaging are quite effective at sealing in the smell, others less so. Gilbert addressed the legal implications for cases where a police officer conducts a warrantless search of a vehicle based on the alleged smell of weed. If the material is doubly vacuum-sealed, the basis for the search may be challenged.
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FORT COLLINS, Colorado, July 14, 2020 – Headspace Sensory founder Dr. Avery Gilbert today delivered a presentation to the virtual annual meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists. IFT, which has over 17,000 members in 95 countries, is an international scientific society of professionals engaged in food science, food technology, and related areas in academia, government and industry.
Gilbert’s presentation, titled “Quantitative Sensory Analysis of Cannabis-based Products,” was part of a symposium on Sensory and Consumer Evaluation of Products Containing Cannabinoids. Gilbert discussed recent studies that have established reliable methods for characterizing cannabis aroma using consumer sniff panelists. He reviewed the emerging picture of strain-specific aromas, and discussed how sensory test methods can be fine-tuned to the unique requirements of cannabis.
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