How do scientists come to a consensus of what a chemical (e.g. a terpene) smells like?

Do they just get a bunch of professional smellers to get in a room and be like “ah yes I’m getting hints of basil, mango, and parsley”

This page is a permanent link to the reply below and its nested replies. See all post replies »

CheekyBadger · M

I think they would reference other smells alot or use things like "sweet" or "floral". It's like "how would you describe the colour blue" - the way we interpret stuff is often subjective so we compare it to other things.