Chemical descriptors and emerging green technologies combined with chemometrics for characterization and evaluation of Brazilian specialty coffees

Abstract

Coffee is one of the most consumed and appreciated beverages in the world, with Coffea arabica (arabica) and Coffea canephora (canephora) being the most economically important species. It is valuable to many countries, including Brazil, the largest producer and exporter. Due to consumer demands for specialty coffees, the demand for high-quality coffees has been gradually increasing. In this context, Arabica coffee has always been more valued, while Canephora coffee has historically been considered as a lower quality coffee and gained less admiration. However, this scenario has started to change recently and fine Canephora is on the rise in the world market of specialty coffees with promising perspectives. In Brazil, fine Canephora comes mainly from regions located in the states of Rondônia, for the Robusta Amazônico, and from Espírito Santo and Bahia for Conilon. However, research aiming the study and characterization of the Brazilian Canephora are scarce. Therefore, this project aims to characterize Brazilian Canephora coffees with unknown chemical compositions. In addition, this project proposes to investigate the potential of emerging green technologies of analysis, including Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR), smartphone-based analysis, Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) and proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy (1H NMR) integrated with chemometrics, as complementary techniques for rapid and accurate control of the quality and authenticity of Brazilian Canephora coffees. From the results obtained through this study, it is expected to provide relevant information about the characteristics of this Brazilian coffee, offering ways to enhance the value of this product in Brazil and worldwide. (AU)