Quality Determinants in Coffee Production

Quality Determinants In Coffee Production presents a comprehensive overview of the main determinants of coffee quality during processing. Authored by members of the Laboratory for Analysis and Research in Coffee at the Federal Institute of Espírito Santo, the chapters in this text explain how coffee quality can be affected through each step of the main processing methods. The first section explores the history of coffee processing, covering how the processes and techniques of sensorial analysis have developed. The second section covers the evolution of these techniques and how various complexities can affect their use, plus the statistical tools that are used to increase test accuracy. Another section focuses on the relationship between fruit microbiology and coffee quality, promoting an understanding of how yeasts, fungi and bacteria effect the quality of coffee during processing. Another section is dedicated to the biotechnological processes used in coffee production, including the applicability of induced and spontaneous routes from the manipulation of raw material, the relationship between wet processing and spontaneous fermentation and the construction of sensorial routes. A final section explores volatile coffee compounds and gas chromatography techniques, including chemical and sensory maps.

The majority of the reference works published on coffee processing have a pragmatic approach covering production, harvesting, post-harvesting and marketing. This work goes beyond these subjects, covering the factors that impact quality and how they lead to either qualitative reduction or gains during processing. New technological and scientific indicators for the modification and the creation of sensory routes are extensively covered, as are the international protocols used in the sensorial analysis of coffee. With its broad approach, this text presents a multidisciplinary perspective connecting areas such as statistics, biochemistry, analytical chemistry and microbiology to the results of sensory analysis using different technologies and processes. A direct relationship between these factors is established in order to help researchers understand their combined effect on coffee quality during processing.