Physicochemical and sensory analysis of coffee: A determination in different parts of the plant

Abstract

The quality of the Arabica coffee drink (Coffea arábica L) is the result of the interaction of several factors, such as climatic conditions, terroir, altitude, nutritional factor, management aspects, stage of fruit maturation, harvest, among others. The objective was to evaluate the physical-chemical quality of coffee fruits, through the soluble solids content of coffee beans, in different parts of the plant, in order to define which position/location on the plant presents the best results in relation to sensory attributes of the drink. The analysis of soluble solids (SS) in ºBrix of cherry and raw coffee, mass grains (MMG) and sensory evaluation, the Catuaí IAC 144 variety presented better results in relation to the Paraíso MG 419- 1 variety. Regarding electrical conductivity (EC), total titratable acidity (TTA) of raw coffee, pH, color the results of the two varieties were representative for quality, the values found in the analyzes are within the defined ranges. The experimental design used was randomized blocks and each variety was harvested in three blocks. Each block consisted of a plant, each plant was divided into twelve subdivisions. The treatments were arranged in a 12x2x3 factorial scheme and subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the means compared using the Scott Knott post hoc test with a significance level (p-value ≤ 0.05). The correlation matrix was used between the variables under study, in order to verify whether there is a linear relationship or not between the variable’s soluble solids ºBrix of cherry and raw coffee, aroma and body of the drink with the final average score of the tasters. Interpreting the generated equation, there is an association between body and final score, when increasing one unit in the body, an increase of 2.21 in the final score is expected. The positions on the coffee plant, upper third and lower third, in relation to the varieties Catuaí IAC 144 and Paraíso MG 419-1, were the most promising from the perspective of the results found in the physical-chemical and sensorial analysis.