Effect of varieties and processing practices on the physical and sensory characteristics of Gayo Arabica specialty coffee

Abstract

Nowadays, sensory characteristics are considered as basic requirement for coffee quality, which determined its future commercial value. Gayo Arabica coffee is one of specialty coffees known by international buyers due to its unique taste and complex aroma. However, the sensory characteristics of gayo arabica coffee vary based on type of local varieties and the processing technique practiced. The present study aims to determine the effect of variety and processing methods towards physical and sensory properties of Gayo Arabica coffee. Four Gayo local varieties (Tim-tim, Borbor, Ateng Super and Multi-varieties) and three processing practices (full-wash, semi-wash and honey natural process) were investigated. The measured parameters were moisture contents and cupping quality based on Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) procedure. The statistical analysis showed that local varieties and processing attributes has significant influenced (P≤0.01) on the certain sensory attributes. The interaction of both factors showed significant effects (P≤0.01) towards flavour, acidity and balance attributes. Ateng Super variety showed a high score of overall cupping attributes whilst among processing practices it showed no differences. In conclusion, all experiments produced specialty coffee based on SCAA cupping test. Ateng Super local varieties showed the highest score (85.36±0.14) and full-wash processing produced the highest cupping quality compared to others (84.79±0.03). The Q-grader also remarked that Gayo Arabica coffee has distinguished flavours such as chocolate, dark-chocolate, caramel, nutty and spicy in all experiments. However, several unpleasant remarks also appeared in honey natural process such as sour, slightly aged and over fermented taste.