High Quality Coffee Research Articles

High-Quality Input Choice under Uncertainty and Ambiguity: An Exploratory Study of Costa Rica's Coffee Sector

The purpose of the present study was to analyze the effect of multiple variables on the decision to invest in high versus regular-quality coffee production inputs. Thereby, a laboratory experiment was conducted with one hundred twenty-three undergraduate students, and posterior logistic regressions with random intercept were executed to analyze the collected data. The results showed that when there is a difference in the investment cost between a coffee of higher quality and a coffee of lower quality (regular), there is a slight increase in the odds ratio of investment in quality coffee, when going from an uncertainty condition of income to one with certainty in income of a higher quality coffee. On the other hand, when the cost is equal for both types of coffee, there is a strong increase in the odds ratio when going from an uncertainty condition to one with certainty. In addition, it was found that both the possibility of loss if there is an investment in a higher quality coffee and the ambiguity in the probability of facing a favorable business climate, reduce the odds ratio of investing in higher-quality coffee.

Efficient coffee beans mucilage layer removal using lactic acid fermentation in a stirred-tank bioreactor: Kinetic, metabolic and sensorial studies

Post-harvest coffee processing involves a microbial process to remove the mucilage layer adhering to the fruits, prior to storage and transport of the coffee beans. In this study, coffee mucilage removal was done using lactic acid fermentation in a stirred-tank bioreactor (STR). Fermentation assays were done with or without the addition of starter culture (i.e., Lactobacillus plantarum LPBR01), and kinetic parameters, including microbial growth, sugar pulp consumption and metabolite production, were studied. High lactic acid bacteria (reaching 10.7 log CFU/ml at 10 h) were obtained in the STR process with the starter culture, which led to a high lactic acid productivity (0.366 g/l h) and a pH decrease to below 4.0 during the initial 10 h. A temporal analysis using Illumina high-throughput 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing (HTS) showed the Lactobacillus genus's dominance in the inoculation process, as it reached over 88% of read sequences at the end of fermentation, while the Leuconostocaceae family was the dominant bacterial group in the spontaneous treatment. The STR fermentation process led to the production of coffee beans with richer aroma composition and beverages with a notable increase in the sensorial analysis of the coffee beverages compared to those resulting from the conventional process. This new fermentation model can be used to do controlled bean fermentation to supply the coffee industry with homogeneous and high-quality coffee beans.

“CIRAGI”- The microbial fermentation starter for developing excellent coffee flavour

Most of the green bean coffees produced by smallholders are not properly fermented, while green bean coffees from large plantations undergo a spontaneous fermentation involving present microbial activity in the processing environment. The process of coffee fermentation itself involves not less than 144 endogenous microbial species originating from coffee fruits or from the surrounding environment. This condition is the source of inconsistency and low cup quality of coffee beans. The inoculation of selected microbial fermentation starter can transform microbial ecosystem. The transformation leads to beneficial microbes dominating and actively inducing flavour precursors into excellent aroma during roasting. The Indonesian Research Institute for Biotechnology and Bioindustry (IRIBB) has developed the CIRAGI (abbreviation of CItaRAsa tingGI meaning “a high flavour” in Indonesian), a fermentation starter for coffee beans using selected Lactobacillus sp. as the active ingredient. High cup quality coffee can consistently result from well-controlled fermentation process of the coffee bean using CIRAGI. The fermentation of both Robusta and Arabica coffee beans using CIRAGI has been demonstrated at laboratory and field trials. The cup tests of both Arabica and Robusta coffee have resulted in improved quality of the coffee flavour, increase of cup test scores based on the SCAA parameter, and elimination of off-flavour.

English

This study assesses the effect of cooperative, certification, private trader, farmers, sorting and processing methods on Arabica coffee quality. Coffee samples were collected from certified cooperatives, non-certified cooperatives, private traders and farmers (members of certified cooperatives, non-certified cooperatives and non-members of cooperatives). The study showed that coffee beans sampled from cooperatives had higher quality scores and were classified as specialty 1 (Q1) (33%) or specialty 2 (Q2) (67%). About 78% of coffee beans sampled from private traders fall in grade 3, while 22% of their beans qualified for Q2. Coffee certification, in general, did not add any value to coffee quality. No quality differences were also observed between coffee beans sampled from farmers. Coffee quality differences were observed between coffee processing methods. Dry processing method improved coffee quality. However, this can only be achieved by using ripe red cherries. Cherry sorting also improved coffee quality and the percentage of coffee samples that fall in Q1. In general, proper coffee cherries type together with site specific coffee processing approach helps coffee actors to produce high quality coffee. Key words: Arabica coffee, flavor, body, specialty, cherry, acidity.

Español

The drastic climate changes that have been presented over the past few years, is considered that have harmed the agriculture in general; countries such as Colombia, who leads the world production of coffee, is experiencing a crisis in its production, what is presumed to be due to such changes. For the case of Acevedo Huila who represents one of the main coffee areas, characterized for its high quality coffee; the coffee growers consider that have been seriously affected by climate variability evidenced in the lower their production and consequently the decline in their income; reason whereby require a mechanism that allows their coffee plantations an adaptation to climate change; In this aspect, the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia has launched a strategy of adaptation to these changes; however, producers reflect an apathy to this proposal as little adjustable to your economy.

Physical and sensory quality of Java Arabica green coffee beans

Demand on high quality coffee for consumption is continually increasing not only in the consuming countries (importers) but also in the producing countries (exporters). Coffee quality could be affected by several factors from farm to cup including the post-harvest processing methods. This research aimed to investigate the influence of different post-harvest processing methods on physical and sensory quality of Java Arabica green coffee beans. The two factors being evaluated were three different post-harvest processing methods to produce green coffee beans (natural/dry, semi-washed and fully-washed processing) under sun drying. Physical quality evaluation was based on The Indonesian National Standard (SNI 01-2907-2008) while sensory quality was evaluated by five expert judges. The result shows that less defects observed in wet processed coffee as compared to the dry processing. The mechanical drying was also proven to yield a higher quality green coffee beans and minimise losses.

Practices of Third Wave Coffee: A Burundian Producer's Perspective

AbstractThe relationship between coffee quality and sustainability is typically analysed using symbolic quality attributes, not material quality. This article provides a bottom‐up perspective of Burundi's current competitive advantage in the global coffee market: material quality. The research agenda was embedded within the operations of a Burundian coffee washing station and describes critical business practices for producing and selling high material quality coffee. We argue that these business practices represent quality governance mechanisms that are significantly different from the exogenous and fixed criteria of sustainability certifications and labels. Such quality governance mechanisms are an important trading trend to recognize and understand in a producing country such as Burundi that is unable to effectively compete in the certified coffee market because of the small size and irregularity of its supply. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

Analysis of defects in coffee beans compared to biplots for simultaneous tables

ABSTRACT The demand for high quality coffee has become a consolidated criterion to achieve the best prices. Currently, cooperatives evaluate the coffee beans mainly through the particle size and the number of defects in the sample. This evaluation type generates counting data that originates contingency tables from different periods or groups involving the same variables in the row and column and there may be interest in knowing if two tables are related and how much are related. These are the so-called combined tables. Statistical analysis techniques normally employed do not include categorical data in the combined tables. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of different types of defects in samples of large flat coffee beans in two different harvests through the construction of biplots. The decomposition theory in single simultaneous values of double entry contingency tables was used. The results of defect counting in beans of 24 coffee samples from southern Minas Gerais, Brazil, were evaluated in the 2014 and 2015 harvests. Moreover, the association among defect types, considered within different total defect proportions in the sample, was verified based on the percentage in 17/18 sieves. It was also evaluated the relative sums of squares from the similarity and dissimilarity among the harvests. It is concluded that the simultaneous analysis technique allows better visualizing the common behavior and alterations among different harvests, distinguishing the defect types associated with each harvest and among different proportions of large flat beans.

Bacterial halo blight of coffee crop: aggressiveness and genetic diversity of strains

ABSTRACT Bacterial halo blight, caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. garcae, is an important disease of coffee crop occurring in Brazil and other countries. In recent years, outbreaks of this disease have damaged several coffee crops in Brazil. Aggressiveness and genetic diversity of 25 strains of P. s. pv. garcae, obtained between the years 1958 and 2011, in 23 cities of Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais states, as well as three strains from Kenya were evaluated in this study. The strains were inoculated on coffee seedlings cultivar Mundo Novo, and their genetic diversity was evaluated by ERIC-PCR, REP-PCR, and their combination. All the strains were pathogenic to the coffee seedlings; the results of pathogenicity tests, in both experiments, could be divided in four aggressiviness classes (highly aggressive; aggressive; moderately aggressive and less aggressive). The Kenyan strains grouped separately from the Brazilian strains with ERIC-PCR and the combination of ERIC- and REP-PCR. The Brazilian strains could be grouped in two sub-clusters, the first including the older strains, obtained from 1958 to 1978, and the other comprising the remaining strains. With a few exceptions, strains isolated from 1997 to 2011, grouped mainly by their region of origin, were predominantly isolated from higher altitude regions, above 800 m. This probably occurred because the climatic conditions that prevail in these regions, characterized by milder temperatures and regular rainfall, are favorable for the coffee crop and for the production of high quality coffee beverage, but can be also favorable to bacterial halo blight.

Commodity chains, institutions, and domestic policies of organic and fair trade coffee in Bolivia

ABSTRACTFair trade and organic coffee are alternative production and trade systems designed to promote the equitable and environmentally sustainable production of coffee. The purpose of this study is to analyze the functioning of different coffee supply chains in Bolivia and find policy changes necessary to sustain specialty coffee production in that country. Based on the primary and secondary data collected from various market functionaries, we find that the Bolivian coffee growers and other intermediaries have benefited financially from participating in fair trade and organic markets. However, the producers continue to face challenges, including increasing costs of production, stagnant premium, price floors, and declining yield. Institutional reforms within the supply chain and greater support from the government are necessary to ensure a better functioning Bolivian market. The government should also prioritize certified coffee as a part of its national food sovereignty agenda since Bolivians consume increasing amounts of high-quality coffees.

Climate change and coffee: assessing vulnerability by modeling future climate suitability in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico

Coffee production has long been culturally and economically important in Puerto Rico. However, since peaking in the late nineteenth century, harvests are near record lows with many former farms abandoned. While value-added markets present new opportunities to reinvigorate the industry, regional trends associated with climate change may threaten the ability to produce high-quality coffee. Here, we discuss the history of coffee in Puerto Rico, outline important bioclimatic parameters, and model current and future habitat suitability using statistically downscaled climate data. Model projections suggest that warming trends may surpass important temperature thresholds during the coming decades. Under high (A2) and mid-low (A1B) emission scenarios for 2011–2040, Puerto Rico is projected to exceed mean annual temperature parameters for growth of Coffea arabica. Warming and drying trends may accelerate after 2040 and could result in top producing municipalities losing 60–84% of highly suitable growing conditions by 2070. Under the A2 scenario, Puerto Rico may only retain 24 km2 of highly suitable conditions by 2071–2099. High temperatures and low precipitation levels can result in diminished quality and yields, as well as increased exposure and sensitivity to certain insects and diseases. The climate data and models used are based on best current understanding of climate and emission interactions with results best interpreted as projected climate trends rather than predictions of future weather. Planning, innovation, and adaptation provide promising avenues to address current and future socioecological challenges while building a model of sustainable and resilient coffee production in Puerto Rico and throughout the region.

New Standard Method for Picking Coffee

Colombian coffee is one of the mildest, high quality coffees in the world; this quality is owed to seeded varieties, environmentalconditions, the selective m...

Digital Fingerprinting of Coffee Blending by Sensitive Crystallization

The authenticity and quality of productions is an area of priority interest that involves safety of consumers and potential economic damages deriving from frauds on origin, adulteration and labeling of products. Several investigation techniques are currently used to characterize food matrices from physical-chemical-biological point of view using different methods in order to limit possible adulterations. In this work, we have developed an experimental and computational framework to improve the potentialities of sensitive crystallization: an experimental technique known since 1936, but never used for quantitative assessment of food quality. As a test case, it has been applied to investigate the geographical traceability and quality of coffee samples. An extensive statistical analysis associated with a careful choice of advanced image descriptors allows gathering quantitative information about the samples, which can constitute a digital fingerprint of their composition. With this new tool we are able to distinguish with blind tests high-quality coffee brands from low-quality mixtures, different coffee species, green from toasted condition of beans and, to a lesser extent, the macro-geographical provenience. A powder X-ray diffraction analysis reinforces the results obtained by sensitive crystallization for the case where crystalline domains are present in the coffee sample.

Key Success Factors in the Brazilian Coffee Agrichain: Present and Future Challenges

Coffee production has grown 100% in volume over the past 30 years, accounting for 144 million coffee bags produced in 2015. Brazil responded to 42% of this production, along with Vietnam (19%), Colombia (9%), Indonesia (8%), and Ethiopia (4%) (OIC, 2016). Following this pace, the consumption expanded not only in such traditional markets as the United States (4.2 kg/year), Germany (6.9 kg/year), and France (5.7 kg/year) but also in tea-driven markets, such as Japan, Korea, Russia, and China (CECAFE, 2013). In 2015, Brazil harvested 43.2 million 60-kg bags of green coffee, 32 million of which were of Arabica coffee and 11.2 million of a Conilon species (CONAB, 2016). The planted area in Brazil is 2.3 million hectares, and there are about 287,000 producers, predominantly mini- and small farmers. Having continental dimensions, the country presents a variety of climates, reliefs, altitudes, and latitudes that allow the production of a wide range of types and qualities of coffee (MAPA, 2016). This research aimed to clarify present and future challenges for the Brazilian coffee agrichain, considering the growing demand and also competitiveness between the coffee countries’ producers. To capture the vivid perception of the actors in the coffee chain, a qualitative approach was employed. The research was conducted in three phases. In the first phase, 10 coffee specialists were interviewed to identify the coffee sector’s main milestones for Brazil over the next 30 years. The findings culminated in eight key success factors for coffee-farming management. Finally, in the second phase, the results of phase two were submitted for analysis by 39 coffee farmers through three discussion panels held in the major producing regions: Sul de Minas (corresponding to 25% of the national production), Cerrado Mineiro (with 10%), and Matas de Minas (with 16%) (MAPA, 2016). The third phase comprised the data analysis, aggregating the patterns by regions and by critical factors. The first outcome was a comparative analysis of the three regions using the lens of the key success factors and, second, the main future challenges faced by each region. The study consolidated new drivers of change that directly impact corporate strategies and public policies, namely: (a) increasing complexity in coffee farming, (b) farm succession, (c) mechanization, (d) increased use of pesticides, (e) climate change, (f) consumer behavior, and (g) risk management in the coffee agrichain. Given these drivers of change, companies in the Brazilian coffee agrichain may move forward with relevant strategic focus on important issues, leading to: (i) loyalty from the farmer to guarantee high-quality coffee supply, (ii) increase in entry barriers to ensure the maintenance of leadership in world coffee production and exportation, (iii) operational risk minimization for companies as well as coffee farmers, (iv) encourage and participate in the farmers´ actions to make coffee activity more environmentally friendly, and finally, (v) designing marketing plans connected with the coffee consumers’ habits and desires, current and future.

Starbucks Corporation: The New S-Curves

By the end of fiscal year (FY) 2010, Starbucks's painful, three-year transformation agenda was essentially complete. Starbucks began FY11 poised to focus on a new blueprint for growth described by CEO Howard Schultz: “Sourcing, roasting, and serving high-quality coffee will remain our core, but we are also pursuing sustainable, profitable growth with a more diversified, multichannel and multibrand business model.” Excerpt UVA-S-0239 Rev. Jan. 6, 2015 STARBUCKS CORPORATION: THE NEW S-CURVES Despite being a public company for 20 years, Starbucks is in the early days of its growth and development. —Howard Schultz, chairman and CEO of Starbucks By the end of fiscal year (FY) 2010, Starbucks' painful, three-year transformation agenda, which included closing more than 900 stores, terminating 18,700 jobs, replacing the senior leadership team, and implementing new Lean store practices to achieve operational excellence, was essentially complete. Starting with the return in 2008 of Starbucks founder and board chairman Howard Schultz as its president and CEO, Starbucks had pulled itself back from the brink of “destruction” after an unsustainable store expansion strategy coupled with a global economic recession had the company's future looking uncertain and its stock losing halfits value. Finishing FY10 with a record $ 10.7 billion in revenue and a first-ever shareholder dividend, Starbucks began FY11 poised to celebrate its 40th anniversary by focusing on a new blueprint for growth described by Schultz: “Sourcing, roasting, and serving high-quality coffee will remain our core, but we are also pursuing sustainable, profitable growth with a more diversified, multichannel and multibrand business model.” . . .

Climate change adaptation of coffee production in space and time

Coffee is grown in more than 60 tropical countries on over 11 million ha by an estimated 25 million farmers, most of whom are smallholders. Several regional studies demonstrate the climate sensitivity of coffee (Coffea arabica) and the likely impact of climate change on coffee suitability, yield, increased pest and disease pressure and farmers’ livelihoods. The objectives of this paper are (i) to quantify the impact of progressive climate change to grow coffee and to produce high quality coffee in Nicaragua and (ii) to develop an adaptation framework across time and space to guide adaptation planning. We used coffee location and cup quality data from Nicaragua in combination with the Maxent and CaNaSTA crop suitability models, the WorldClim historical data and the CMIP3 global circulation models to predict the likely impact of climate change on coffee suitability and quality. We distinguished four different impact scenarios: Very high (coffee disappears), high (large negative changes), medium (little negative changes) and increase (positive changes) in climate suitability. During the Nicaraguan coffee roundtable, most promising adaptation strategies were identified, which we then used to develop a two-dimensional adaptation framework for coffee in time and space. Our analysis indicates that incremental adaptation may occur over short-term horizons at lower altitudes, whereas the same areas may undergo transformative adaptation in the longer term. At higher elevations incremental adaptation may be needed in the long term. The same principle and framework is applicable across coffee growing regions around the world.

Cryo assisted spouted bed roasting of coffee beans

Abstract A process for roasting of coffee beans involving spouted bed roasting (SBR), followed by cryogenic cooling and grinding was developed. The temperature and time of roasting was 210 °C and 22 min. It was found that coffee subjected to SBR roasting followed by cryogenic cooling had greater impact on the retention of volatile compounds especially the furans and thiols than the conventional drum roasting (CDR). The dehydration, the zero and first order color degradation rate constants for cryo treated SBR coffee beans were found to be 0.079, 1.9 and 0.04488 respectively where as for CDR coffee beans it was 0.03942, 1.398 and 0.030 correspondingly. The sensory analysis confirmed that proposed roasting method was beneficial for the retention of volatile flavor compounds and reduction of the burning of surface, and will be very useful for coffee processing in order to produce high quality coffee beans and increase its economic value. Industrial relevance Pyrolytic reactions lead to characteristic aroma and flavor during coffee roasting. Optimizing and controlling the roasting parameters is critical for coffee quality. Coffee roasting process involving spouted bed and cryogenic cooling was developed. Proposed roasting produces high quality coffee beans leading to its improved economic importance.

Coffee extraction kinetics in a well mixed system

The extraction of coffee solubles from roasted and ground coffee is a complex operation, the understanding of which is key to the brewing of high quality coffee. This complexity stems from the fact that brewing of coffee is achieved through a wide variety of techniques each of which depends on a large number of process variables. In this paper, we consider a recent, experimentally validated model of coffee extraction, which describes extraction from a coffee bed using a double porosity model. The model incorporates dissolution and transport of coffee in the coffee bed. The model was shown to accurately describe extraction of coffee solubles from grains in two situations: extraction from a dilute suspension of coffee grains and extraction from a packed coffee bed. The full model equations can only be solved numerically. In this work we consider asymptotic solutions, based on the dominant mechanisms, in the case of coffee extraction from a dilute suspension of coffee grains. Extraction in this well mixed system, can be described by a set of ordinary differential equations. This allows analysis of the extraction kinetics from the coffee grains independent of transport processes associated with flow through packed coffee beds. Coffee extraction for an individual grain is controlled by two processes: a rapid dissolution of coffee from the grain surfaces in conjunction with a much slower diffusion of coffee through the tortuous intragranular pore network to the grain surfaces. Utilising a small parameter resulting from the ratio of these two timescales, we construct asymptotic solutions using the method of matched asymptotic expansions. The asymptotic solutions are compared with numerical solutions and data from coffee extraction experiments. The asymptotic solutions depend on a small number of dimensionless parameters, so the solutions facilitate quick investigation of the influence of various process parameters on the coffee extraction curves.

Empirical Investigation into Spatial Integration Without Direct Trade: Comparative Analysis Before and After the Establishment of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the spatial price cointegration of coffee markets in Ethiopia in the pre and post Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) era using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) cointegration framework. The study takes into consideration a market condition in which government policy restricts arbitrage coffee trade between coffee producing areas. Using coffee price data from 1998–2013 and applying a bounds test approach and Toda–Yamamoto Granger causality test, the study finds that the establishment of ECX has strengthened regional integration rather than a national harmony between producer markets. We also find evidence that, since the establishment of ECX, an opportunity was created for high quality coffee to dominate price formation while also allowing lower quality coffee producing areas to establish themselves. The study underlines the importance of market transparency and exchange of price information between producer markets.

Consumers' preference for the origin and quality attributes associated with production of specialty coffees: Results from a cross-cultural study

Specialty coffee is one of high quality coffees which have grown faster these past years. As a possible consequence of this fast growth, it is still difficult to understand the dynamic of this coffee segment with respect to its different definitions, market trends and its impact on producers' and consumers' decisions. As a main objective of this work, Spanish and Colombian consumers' preferences toward the origin and some specialty coffee attributes such as: Fair Trade, sustainable, organic, and gourmet were studied. It was used a choice experiment method as a quantitative technique to carry out this study. It has been found that Spanish and Colombian consumers are ethical consumers; they highly value Fair Trade coffee. However, Spanish consumers prefer organic coffee than Rainforest certified coffee in comparison with Colombian consumers. In both countries, the consumer preference for Colombian origin coffee was recorded.