Nine experts rated two brands of Colombian coffee in a taste-testing experiment. A rating on a 7-point scale (1 = extremely unpleasing, 7 = extremely pleasing) is given for each of four characteristics: taste, aroma, richness, and acidity. The following data stored in Coffee contain the ratings accumulated over all four characteristics

Expert A B

C.C. 24 26

S.E. 27 27

E.G. 19 22

B.L. 24 27

C.M. 22 25

C.N. 26 27

G.N. 27 26

R.M. 25 27

P.V. 22 23

a. At the 0.05 level of significance, is there evidence of a difference in the mean ratings between the two brands?

b. What assumption is necessary about the population distribution in order to perform this test?

c. Determine the p-value in (a) and interpret its meaning.

d. Construct and interpret a 95% confidence interval estimate of the difference in the mean ratings between the two brands.