Melhoramento da qualidade do cafe brasileiro : influencia de sistemas de produção e processamento sobre algumas caracteristicas da bebida

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

1996

RESUMO

On the international coffee market, brazilian arabica coffee is described as having unpleasant characteristics of the beverage, normally relating the descriptions of "hardness" or "phenolic, chemical, rio" flavours to the dry method of green coffee bean processing. The so-called "depulped beans" or processed by the wet method are generally recognized as possessing "pleasant aromas and sweet, soft tas te, and having desirable acidity and body". These differences are more correlated to the homogeneity of the harvested beans, being exclusively the mature anes in this last method and normally showing different stages in beans maturation in the system usually adopted in Brazil. A new method for green coffee bean processing - semi-dried coffee has recently been introduced in Brazil, combining the use of water for, the separation of the mature cherries with their rapid transportation to, the drying places, where the rapid dehydration of the beans hinders the occurrence of undesirable fermentations and the subsequent formation of unpleasant off-flavours. In this report, some sensory characteristics of the beans processed by the semi-dried method are described, cultivated in regions susceptible to topoclimatic (and adverse) conditions. The development of favorable characteristics was observed, including green coffee bean appearance and the descriptions of beverage aroma, acidity and body, that could lead to the modification of brazilian arabica coffee misconceptions. The adoption of the semi-dried processing system results in a notable decrease in the volumes of coffee commercialized, with the various coffee fractions being conunerciálized separately. With the aim of increasing the mature cherry fraction and of protecting the raw material against prolonged fermentations, three products derived from microbial isolates were tested - called FQ/ A 1, FQ/ A 2 and FQ/T - being applied before the mature bean phase. Various concentrations and intervals between the application and the harvesting period were tested, using the Potential Evapotranspiration Somatory to calculate the probable time of maturation in each coffee property analyzed. The results of the application of the microbial isolate products showed that the control of undesirable fennentations and the increase in the mature cherry fraction were positive for the sensory characteristics of acidity, aroma and body of the beverage and for the size of the coffee lots produced in regions susceptible to topoclimatic and adverse conditions for coffee quality. According. to the concentration and type of product, some alterations in the coffee maturation cycle and the preservation of beneficial coffee flavours for a longer period were observed. Nevertheless, the efficiency of applications was also dependant on some technological and agronomic factors, such as the type of fertilization, the plant variety and the corresponding cycle of maturation, the control of pests and diseases, the height and structure of the coffee plants and the drying and storage technologies. Some perspectives for the evolution of scientific and technological research in this respect are also presented, such as the evaluation of lower concentrations and application intervals in new planting are as susceptible to adverse topoclimatic conditions and the development of analytical processes to determine coffee flavours. In any case, this would increase the knowledge about microbiological assays, the relationship between coffee compounds and their sensory impact, give assistance to professional tasters, increase the importance of brazilian arabica coffee on the international market, and the change of established concepts.

ASSUNTO(S)

cafe - industria cafe - cultivo cafe - microbiologia cafe

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