Considering the health benefits of kombucha, already widely studied, the objective of this study was to develop kombucha beverages with the addition of an infusion of specialty arabica coffee from the first fermentation, varying the proportion of specialty coffee (2% to 13%), and evaluate their pH, volatile acidity, degree of alcohol, centesimal composition, sodium contents, and colour parameters to determine the acceptability of the beverages. Concerning the pH, all of the formulations conformed with the kombucha identity standard, but K3 (11% coffee) and K4 (13% coffee) were below the established minimum for volatile acidity. Except for K4, all of the other formulations were classified as alcoholic kombuchas, although their values were very close to the limit for non-alcoholic beverages. The formulations presented low sugar and sodium contents, which corroborated their low caloric value. Therefore, coffee-flavoured kombucha fermented for 18 days becomes an option for consumers looking for low-calorie, refreshing, and healthy drinks. The luminosity of the beverages decreased as the proportion of coffee increased, and consequently, the values for a* and b* increased, indicating a strong tendency for a yellowish-red colour. Sensorially, the formulations K4 and K3 were the most well accepted in all respects and can therefore be considered formulations with high commercialisation potential.

The traditional aging of cachaça has been performed with different types of wood barrels. Although it is efficient for incorporating phenolics, volatiles, and color into the drink, it is time-consuming for the industry. Alternative aging processes, such as the use of wood chips, have been proposed, and they have the advantage of achieving aging in a shorter time and producing a quality and innovative drink. Therefore, the influence of jackfruit wood barrel and chips and micro-aeration was investigated during cachaça aging. For that, five treatments were used—stainless steel tank (control); stainless steel tank and micro-aeration (control); jackfruit wood barrel; stainless steel tank with jackfruit chips; and stainless steel tank with jackfruit chips and micro-aeration—during two aging times (40 and 79 days). Aging cachaça with jackfruit wood led to increased physicochemical, color, and total phenolic contents, whereas alcoholic degree, lightness, and copper contents decreased. No influence was observed on higher alcohols. Nineteen phenolic compounds were identified in the jackfruit wood aged cachaça by HPLC-DAD-FLD. Myricetin was predominant, a potential marker for jackfruit wood. Longer aging time decreased the alcoholic degree and total ester, but it increased dry extract, density, total and volatile acidity, and it improved the quality of cachaça. The use of chips accelerated aging, whereas micro-aeration led to decreased myricetin. PCA and HCA clustered the samples into three groups: the first was correlated with several flavonoids and coumarins; the second with myricetin, piceatannol, and trans-ferulic acid; and the last with ellagic acid. The use of jackfruit chips in the aging of cachaça has been shown to be a promising innovation.

A cachaça, destilado mais consumido no Brasil, tem apresentado um crescimento no consumo, o que torna necessária a profissionalização do setor com novas tecnologias e a padronização de qualidade. Embora não seja obrigatório, o envelhecimento da cachaça em recipientes de madeira, como barris ou tonéis, melhora as características sensoriais da bebida, pois compostos fenólicos são extraídos da madeira e reagem com o álcool. Uma das técnicas usadas na maturação da cachaça é a criação de blends, que são misturas de cachaças envelhecidas em diferentes madeiras ou em madeira com tempos de maturação distintos, visando equilíbrio e identidade. Blends podem elevar as qualidades da cachaça, aumentando sua complexidade sensorial. O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar o perfil físico-químico de blends de cachaças envelhecidas em tonéis de diferentes madeiras. As amostras analisadas eram de cachaças produzidas em alambiques de cobre, oriundas dos estados de São Paulo e Paraíba, coletadas diretamente da linha de envase. Nas análises físico-químicas e dos marcadores químicos de envelhecimento dos blends, constatou-se diferenças químicas e físicas, com a presença acentuada de siringaldeído, vanilina e cumarina. Essas diferenças químicas confirmam a contribuição dos marcadores de envelhecimento na elaboração de blends de cachaça.

Palm oil is primarily used in the crude form in northeastern Brazil's cuisine. Most of its production is carried out by small manufacturers, who use the profits from sales as a subsidy to supplement their family income. Evaluating the physicochemical and sensory quality of palm oil is essential to help producers develop higher-quality artisanal products. This study aimed to analyze samples of crude palm oil produced and sold in the city of Taperoá (BA) and other industrialized brands sold in Salvador (BA). Seven palm oil samples underwent physicochemical analysis (acidity, carotenoid content, instrumental color, iodine value, peroxide value, Kreis reaction, saponification value) and sensory analysis (acceptance and ranking tests). Our findings revealed significant variation in the evaluated parameters, with most samples showing inadequate results for the regulatory parameters of acidity and iodine values, as well as unsatisfactory results for carotenoids and the Kreis reaction across all samples. Variations in color analysis were likely associated with differences in carotenoid content among the samples. The acceptance tests showed that most samples scored above average for all evaluated characteristics, except for the industrial sample from Taperoá (sample 06), which showed the lowest averages for color (4.5), odor (5.2), viscosity (3.2), and overall impression (4.3). In the ranking test, sample 02 from artisanal production (Taperoá-BA) was the most preferred in all categories, while sample 06 from industrial production (Nazaré-BA) was the least preferred in all categories. These results indicate opportunities for improving both traditional and industrial crude palm oil production methods, which could lead to an increase in income for the population that depends on this product.

Considering the health benefits of the kombucha, already widely studied, the objective of the study was to development of the beverage with the addition of infusion of special arabica coffee from the first fermentation varying the proportion of special coffee (2% a 13%) and evaluate the pH, volatile acidity, degree of alcohol, centesimal composition, sodium contents, colour parameters as like acceptability of the beverages. With respect to the pH, all the formulations conformed with the kombucha identity standard, but K3 and K4 were below the established minimum for volatile acidity. Except for K4, all the other formulations were classified as alcoholic kombuchas, although the values were very close to the limit for non-alcoholic. The formulations presented low sugar and sodium content, which corroborated the low caloric value. Therefore, coffee-flavored kombucha fermented for 18 days becomes an option for consumers looking for low-calorie, refreshing and healthy drinks. The luminosity of the beverages decreased as the proportion of coffee increased, and consequently the values for a* and b* increased, indicating a strong tendency for a yellowish red colour. Sensorially, the formulations K4 and K3 were the most well accepted in all respects and can therefore be considered formulations with high commercialization potential.

Cachaça is a distilled beverage made from sugarcane produced exclusively in Brazil and is the second most consumed alcoholic beverage by the Brazilian population. During the maturation process, which is carried out either in wooden barrels or with the addition of wood chips, compounds such as organic acids and phenolic substances are extracted into the beverage, providing specific characteristics to the beverage. The current research mainly focused on evaluating the impact of adding different types of cachaças, stored under different conditions, in the production of blends. To evaluate the impact, three different cachaça blends were produced through mixing the beverage stored under different conditions—conventional aging and storage in wooden barrels (CWB); storage in stainless steel barrels with wooden chips (SSW); and storage in stainless steel barrels with wooden chips under aeration (SSWA)—in a proportion of 50% v/v with white cachaça (not aged). The blends were assessed for physicochemical properties, phenolic composition, sensory profile, consumer acceptability, and ranking preference. The results showed that samples mixed with SSW presented higher values of total acidity, volatile acidity, total esters, dry extract, and total phenolic compounds when compared with cachaça CWB. Experts described the cachaça blends as having a balanced/harmonious flavor, moderately woody, with alcohol and acidity, and a mild spice. No significant differences were observed in consumer acceptability between treatments. However, the cachaça blends prepared with samples stored in stainless steel tanks containing wooden chips, showed greater preference among consumers. Therefore, blending unaged cachaça with cachaça aged with wooden chips appears to be a promising and advantageous alternative for the cachaça production process, since the aging time of the beverage can be reduced, preserving its physical-chemical and sensory characteristics.