So far, the main Arabica coffee breeding programmes in Latin America have focused on the selection of varieties adapted to intensive full-sun farming systems. Meanwhile, little attention has been paid to breeding varieties specifically adapted to shade, which is the main characteristic of agroforestry systems (AFS). Yet the specialty coffee sector is currently expanding and seeking specific sensory qualities related to exotic varieties and no breeding programme exists to create new varieties for this type of market. Two trials were set up: one in full sun and the other under shade. F1 hybrids and their parents (pure lines and Ethiopian accessions) were studied in a factorial-crossing design to measure tree volume, yield (3 years), bean size, the bean NIRS signature and the final cupping score. Bean size and the final cupping score seemed to be relatively unaffected by shading. Strong maternal heritability was observed for bean size. In the trials, F1 hybrids produced “75–80%” more than the maternal lines and “40–50%” more than the male parents in the shade trial and in the full-sun trial, respectively. By choosing the F1 hybrid, it is possible to increase productivity under both shade and full sun while simultaneously achieving good sensory qualities. Selecting a F1 hybrid for “specialty coffee” seems exceptional. This raises a fundamental issue concerning the maternal heritability of seed biochemical composition. We conclude that selection under shade is essential for the selection of varieties adapted to AFS.

The coffee fermentation process has been established as a determining stage regarding its quality and aroma. The objective of this study was to evaluate the differences that exist between five fermentation processes and within each process (at different fermentation times) based on their volatile and sensory profile. The processes evaluated were dry or natural (NA), semi-dry or honey (HO), and three variations of the wet process, called: conventional aerobic (CA), aerobic with previous fermentation in cherry (AFC) and anaerobic with previous fermentation in cherry (ANFC). The NA process obtained the highest score (86.63) in the sensory profile and statistically different from the other processes, followed by the process HO (84.79), ANFC (84.24), CA (84.21) and AFC (83.63). The volatile profile was determined by headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Fifty-one volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were tentatively identified. The main chemical families that allowed differentiating between groups of processes were ketones and pyrroles, and the VOCs that mainly contribute to differentiate between process or groups of processes are: ethanone, 1-(1H-pyrrol-2-yl)-, 2,5-dimethylpyrazine, 2-furanmethanol, 4-vinylguayacol, 2-methylfuran, 2-butanone, 2,3-dimethylpyrazine, acetylpyrazine, 1-(2-furanylmethyl) -1H-pyrrole and 2,2'-bifuran. Within each fermentation process (between treatments) no differences were found from the final score of the sensory analysis, but differences were found from volatile profile.