Perfil físico-químico de Blends de variedades de café em diferentes condições do processo de torrefação

Abstract

Brazil is the largest producer of sacks of green coffee beans, and the Brazilian population is the largest consumer of coffee drinks in the world. Several parameters make this drink so appreciated by the consumer, highlighting the sensory characteristics and its stimulating effect, which is caused by the presence of caffeine. In this sense, the roasting stage is fundamental because it is where important chemical changes occur that give the coffee the peculiar taste, smell and color. The Coffea arabica (arabica coffee) and Coffea canephora (conillon coffee) species are the most used by coffee roasters worldwide, due to their high yields and good industrial yields. Brazil, with its vast territory and diverse climate, is able to produce both species in a very expressive way, which leaves the country in a prominent position in relation to coffee exports. The roasting industries work from a combination of these two varieties, the so-called blend. The blends are made from the blending of different varieties and vintages to obtain characteristics that personalize the flavors and aromas of the final product. For this work, eleven blends were elaborated, according to a factorial design 23, where different combinations of Coffea arabica concentrations were made in relation to Coffea canephora, submitted to different roasting conditions, varying the time and the temperature. The blends were roasted, milled and then the granulometry analyzes were performed, moisture content, ash content, apparent density, color, pH, total soluble solids, total titratable acidity, acid number, free fatty acids index, lipid content, saponification index, reducing sugars, proteins, carbohydrates by difference, aqueous extract and caffeine content. All coffee blends were classified as fine roasted, showed low mass loss, and, consequently, good yield. The density was higher for the blends with higher concentrations of Coffea canephora. The pH and color were the parameters most influenced by the degree of roasting. The values of moisture, total soluble solids, aqueous extract, caffeine and lipids were in accordance with the legislation. From the analysis of all the evaluated aspects, it was possible to show the influence of the concentrations of the coffee varieties in the blends, as well as the roasting conditions in the experiment, these effects were demonstrated through Pareto Graphs. Finally, it was observed that the experiments with 31.25% arabica coffee and 68.75% conillon coffee roasted at 170 °C for 12 min showed good results, and may be a standard adopted by the roasting coffee industries, being a good combination for the formulation of traditional coffee, which is the type of coffee most consumed in Brazil.