The sensory quality of coffee begins in the plant tree, where the characteristics of the fruits define the composition of the chemical precursors, which can be preserved or transformed in stages such as mucilage fermentation, and are the basis for the beverage attributes. This study evaluated three degrees of maturity and their comportment in fermentation under two temperatures and two-time extensions, establishing their sensory and chemical characteristics through analytical techniques such as liquid and gas chromatography. The effect of the prolongation time was evidenced for oxalic, quinic, citric acids, glucose, and fructose in two of the three degrees of maturity evaluated. The interaction of the process conditions increased the content of fructose and glucose in one of the states, being more evident at 20 °C. The treatments associated with the most advanced stage of maturity and with higher temperature decreased the scores of five sensory attributes and the fructose content increased by 48.50% and the glucose content increased by 47.31%. Advanced stages of maturity preserve quality standards, but their performance can be differential in postharvest processes, especially in those that are beyond the standards, such as those involving prolongations in different processes such as fermentation.

The phenological patterns of coffee flowering in Colombia have typically been studied in a descriptive way, with knowledge from an inferential perspective being scarce. The present study evaluated the effect of geographic location and accession on the floral patterns and phenological descriptors of Coffea arabica L. Fifteen accessions from the Colombian coffee collection (four tall and eleven short) were planted in the departments of Cesar, Caldas, Quindío and Cauca (Colombia). The number of flower buds per branch per plant per evaluated accession was recorded weekly during four flowering semesters. Subsequently, the phenological flowering descriptors, namely synchrony among individuals, intraindividual temporal variability and number of events were calculated. The data were analyzed descriptively, and then the inferential component was conducted using analysis of variance for a two-factor additive model and randomization restriction. The results showed that there are two flowering patterns according to the expression of flowering in the floral cycles, the “annual” class in the department of Cesar and the “continual” class in the departments of Caldas, Quindío and Cauca. The phenological descriptors show differences between the departments according to the coffee zone to which it belongs (northern, central or southern). In turn, the floral pattern of each area can be linked to the latitudinal change in daily sunshine, as well as to the distribution of rainfall and temperature, in a very broad sense and based on the literature. The data did not provide statistical evidence to suggest differences among the accessions or between the tree sizes evaluated.

La Gobernación del Huila, con recursos del Sistema General de Regalías (SGR), el Comité Departamental de Cafeteros del Huila y Cenicafé, generaron actividades encaminadas a apoyar la producción cafetera del departamento ante la creciente demanda de café de alta calidad. Dentro de las estrategias generadas se realizó la caracterización de la calidad del café producido en el departamento entre los años 2016 y 2018, para cumplir este objetivo, se seleccionaron de forma aleatoria 123 fincas de 35 municipios y se realizaron varios muestreos en estas fincas, tomando un total de 445 muestras. Se realizaron análisis de calidad física y sensorial y determinación de la composición química. Los valores promedio del factor de rendimiento fueron 94,63 para el 2016, 86,82 para el 2017 y 88,83 para el 2018, estos valores indican una buena calidad física del café. En cuanto a la calidad sensorial, el 80,97% de las muestras no presentaron defectos sensoriales, y el que se presentó con mayor proporción fue el defecto reposo, asociado a malas prácticas de secado y al almacenamiento del café con contenidos de humedad superiores al 12%. Los valores promedio de los compuestos químicos estimados en las muestras de café verde, estuvieron dentro del rango reportado para el café de variedad Coffea arabica L.

La fracción lipídica del grano de café, así como los compuestos que la componen, cumplen una función importante en la calidad sensorial del café. Esta investigación tuvo como objetivo caracterizar químicamente, la fracción lipídica del café verde en las variedades Tabi, Cenicafé 1 y Castillo® Naranjal, Castillo® El Tambo y Castillo® Pueblo Bello, procedentes de lotes cultivados en diferentes localidades de Colombia durante dos años de cosecha. Se determinaron los contenidos de lípidos totales, la composición de ácidos grasos (palmítico, esteárico, oleico, linoleico, araquídico) y los isómeros ?-, ?-, ?-, y ?- Tocoferol. Las muestras se evaluaron sensorialmente, de acuerdo con el método empleado por Almacafé, según la norma NTC 4883. El contenido promedio de lípidos totales varió entre 10,7-12,3% en base seca (b.s), presentando diferencias significativas para la variedad Tabi con respecto a las demás variedades. Los contenidos promedios de tocoferoles (vitamina E) estuvieron en el rango entre 40,6-60,2 mg de vitamina E/100 g aceite de café, se destaca el isómero ?-Tocoferol por contenidos superiores a los reportados. En cuanto a la composición de ácidos grasos, se identificaron como ácidos mayoritarios al ácido palmítico con un contenido entre 38,7-40,5%, seguido por el ácido linoleico con un contenido promedio entre 34,1%-37,9%. Respecto a la evaluación sensorial, el atributo impresión global clasificó en promedio la calidad en taza de las variedades como muestras estándar, con valores de rangos de calificación inferiores a 4,5 debido posiblemente a un proceso de poscosecha deficiente, el cual tiene incidencia en la calidad de la bebida.

The growth patterns of coffee plants are determined by interactions between genetic, physiological, and climate factors. The objective of this study was to evaluate the growth patterns of coffee plants in the nursery under the climatic conditions of Chinchiná, Caldas, Colombia, during the first semester of 2019. Measurements were carried out in the Cenicafé 1 variety during six months. Growth parameters such as leaf area, number of leaves, height, stem diameter, and length of the main root were evaluated every 15 d after transplanting (DAT) in 20 plants and the averages of absolute growth (Ĝ) rate of each growth variable were calculated. For the total leaf area, total number of leaves, and stem height, a sigmoidal-type growth curve was adjusted, while the growth curve was linear for the stem diameter (R2 = 0.97) and main root length (R2 = 0.95). Average values were obtained for 520 cm2 for total leaf area, with an Ĝ of 3.31 cm2 d-1, 11 for total leaves (Ĝ 0.055 leaves d-1), 30.23 cm for height (Ĝ 0.155 cm d-1), 4.87 mm for stem diameter (Ĝ 0.199 mm d-1), and 28.80 cm for main root length (Ĝ 0.087 cm d-1) at 180 DAT. These results suggest that growth curves could be a useful tool for describing the growth patterns of coffee seedlings during the nursery stage of growth.

Cesar, a coffee-growing department in Colombia, has particular characteristics that favor the production of coffees differentiated by sensory profile, for which the acidity attribute stands out. The chemical composition and sensory quality of the coffee produced by 160 coffee growers during two production harvests (2021 and 2022) and processed by the wet method were evaluated to correlate the contents of the main acidic chemical compounds present in green coffee beans with the perceived acidity of the beverage. The chemical analysis of coffee samples utilized spectrophotometric methods and HPLC-DAD techniques. Lactic, 3,5-di-CQA and phosphoric acids were good discriminators of acidity classified as excellent; that is, with a score higher than 7.75 on the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) scale, presenting the highest contents in the green coffee bean. There was a direct linear relationship between acidity and 3,5-di-CQA and 5-CQA and an inverse relationship between acidity and 3-CQA, 4-CQA and 4,5-CQA. These findings contribute to the understanding of the quality and chemistry of Colombian coffee.