Sensory evaluation of coffee cultivars in the Campo das Vertentes Mesoregion, Minas Gerais

The objective of this study was to evaluate the sensory characteristics of coffees from Coffea arabica L. groups, in municipalities located in the Campo das Vertentes mesoregion, in the State of Minas Gerais. Natural and parchment coffees, after drying, consisted of 100% mature fruits. The experiment was carried out on 14 coffee farms located in the municipalities of Carmo da Mata, Oliveira, Santo Antonio do Amparo and Bom Sucesso, in the 2016/17 agricultural crop. In order to conduct the study, coffee fruit collections of nine groups of commercial cultivars were submitted to two types of post-harvest processing, known as “terrarium nut” and “parchment”, combinations that resulted in 250 samples. Sensory analysis was performed according to the protocol of the Specialty Coffee Association - SCA, with panelists accredited by the Coffee Quality Institute - CQI. The natural post-harvest processing (terrarium nut) showed higher scores for most groups of cultivars when compared to parchment processing. Cultivars Topazio, Bourbon Amarelo, Catucai Amarelo, Icatu Amarelo and Icatu Vermelho stood out with the highest averages for all sensory attributes. Key words: Coffee arabica L., sensory analysis, Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), quality.