Quality of natural coffee subjected to different rest periods during the drying process

Abstract

Rest periods during the coffee drying process may help improve the final coffee quality and reduce power consumption. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the moisture content of coffee fruit at the point when the drying process is temporarily interrupted on the quality of natural coffee using sensory analysis and electrical conductivity and potassium leaching tests. Ripe coffee fruits were manually and selectively harvested, sun-dried in a concrete yard for two days and subjected to mechanical drying in fixed-bed dryers. When the coffee reached moisture contents of 20%, 17% and 14% (wet basis, wb), the drying process was interrupted, and the coffee was allowed to remain at rest for 5, 15 or 30 days. Following this rest period, the coffee was dried in mechanical dryers until reaching a moisture content of 11% (wb). The control condition was complete drying in the yard. The combination of lowest moisture content with greatest period of rest and the combination of greatest moisture content and shortest period of rest resulted in the lowest values of potassium leaching. The beverage quality gradually improved as the duration of the rest period increased. Coffee subjected to a rest period at moisture contents of 17% and 20% (wb) did not alter the quality compared to that from drying in the yard.