Avaliação sensorial e química de café natural com inoculação tardia

Abstract

In coffee fruits, at all stages of production, there is a microbiota present composed of bacteria, yeasts and filamentous fungi. In fruit processing, the metabolic activity of these microorganisms can influence the final quality of the product. The use of starter cultures during this stage is an interesting alternative, as it promotes faster mucilage removal and incorporates compounds that improve sensory quality, resulting in a great sensory diversification for the beverage. In this sense, this work was carried out with the objective of evaluating the effect of fermentation on fruits; of coffee variety Catucaí yellow of Coffea arábica, with indigenous microorganisms, followed by the inoculation of the starter culture Torulaspora delbrueckii CCMA 0684 during the drying stage, in the chemical and sensorial characteristics of the coffee. The fruits were divided into two lots, which are differentiated by the indigenous fermentation process, before the beginning of drying. Inoculation of the starter culture was performed at different times before the start of drying: 0h, 24h, 48h and 72h. The effect of fermentation during drying was observed; the sensory characteristics of aroma, flavor, acidity and body were analyzed; the intensity of attributes such as sweetness, acidity, bitterness, body, astringency, finish and final note of the drink; the volatile composition of the roasted beans; the profile of organic acids, bioactive compounds and fatty acid profile of raw grains. The contents of fatty acids and bioactive compounds showed little variation between treatments. Through the analysis of volatile compounds and organic acids, it was possible to separate the two batches. The aroma attribute showed greater diversification of attributes when combined with indigenous fermentation with subsequent inoculation of the starter culture, in the times of 48h and 72h. As well as greater sweetness, final note and acidity. For the flavor attribute, there was a predominance of sweetness, at 0h and 24h, in both batches. It was observed that the combination of Indigenous Fermentation followed by the starter culture contributes to higher acidity and higher final grade of the samples.