Similaridade de formulações de blends de cafés de diferentes qualidades utilizando a análise de correspondência generalizada

Abstract

Due to a highly demanding consuming market with respect to quality standards and certificates, the formulation of blends with different varieties and qualities of coffee stands out among the activities related to coffee processing and industrialization. Each coffee variety is particular regarding its chemical composition, physiology, temperature, and processing procedures, which are factors that characterize sensory attributes such as flavor, acidity, and bitterness. Therefore, assessing the sensory quality of blends considering these attributes is complex. This study aimed at proposing a methodology to study the similarities among coffee blends from arabica, canephora, and commercial grains. The methodology is based on Correspondence Analysis, which allows the evaluation of different measurements, and proposes a gravity index that determines the risk of an evaluator to provide wrong scores at sensory analyses. Regarding gravity indices, the Hellinger distance presented higher results than the Chi-squared test, which justifies the evaluation of measurement errors likely made by the evaluator.