Quality of coffee produced in the Southwest region of Bahia, Brazil subjected to different forms of processing and drying

Abstract

Coffee quality is vital for quoting prices, marketing and for the acceptance of the final product by the consumer market. Many factors can interfere with the quality of the coffee beans, especially those related to the stages of post-harvest, such as processing and drying. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of dry (natural) and wet (washed) processing, dried in an earthen yard and in a cement yard, respectively, on the physico-chemical composition and quality of coffee beans produced in the southwest region of Bahia, in the 2007/2008 harvest season. The present study evaluated the parameters of pH, electrical conductivity, potassium leaching, total sugars, non-reducing sugars, reducing sugars, caffeine, total titratable acidity, soluble solids, sensory analysis and the pH of the infusion of roasted and ground coffee beans which resulted from natural and washed processing in the municipalities of Barra do Choça and Encruzilhada, in the southwest region of Bahia. It is suggested by the results obtained that, for the southwest region of Bahia, washed processing associated to the drying of the beans in a concrete yard provides coffees of a better quality when compared with the naturally processed beans dried in an earthen yard.

The effect of various harvesting techniques and drying methods on the yield and quality of Liberoid coffee

“…Processing of coffee cherries can be done by wet and dry methods. Coffee beans produced from wet processing are generally better than those produced from dry processing [6][7] [8]. Dry processing is usually called a natural process by drying the coffee cherries under direct sunlight or in a drying room without peeling the skin first.…”