Resumo:
Coffee cultivation is an important economic activity, produced mainly by small producers, being a major exportation product in Peru. Among the coffee varieties grown in the Puno region, the Catimor variety predominates, mainly because of its resistance to yellow rust and productivity. Was investigated the effect on the physical and sensory quality of four coffee processing methods (washed, honey, natural, anaerobic) and a control sample. Samples of three kilograms of Catimor coffee were harvested for each benefit method, then the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) methodology was applied to evaluate the physical and sensory quality, and the results were analyzed with analysis of variance and Tukey's multiple comparison. The results showed that yield, the main attribute of physical quality, grouped the treatments into two different groups: (1) control 71.17%, washed 75.83%, honey 75.24% and (2) natural 44.45%, anaerobic 45.70%; regarding to the sensory quality, of the sensory attributes only fragrance and body are significantly different, the total cup score was: 82.50 (control), 84.00 (washed), 82.88 (honey), 85.75 (natural) and 87.38 (anaerobic). There is a significant difference between the treatments, despite of the lower yields of the natural and anaerobic benefits, these benefit methods significantly improve sensory quality and therefore profitability. The study gives reference to the coffee producer on the processing method to be used to generate greater profits, and the organic and volatile components related to the benefit methods should be studied.
