Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and chemometrics for discrimination of espresso coffees with different sensory characteristics

Coffee cup quality, determined by the sensory attributes evaluated by professional tasters, is a decisive factor for evaluating coffee, with the “Specialty Coffee Association of America” (SCAA) classification being nowadays considered the most suitable. Panels of trained coffee tasters are used by the industry to describe and evaluate beverage quality, but those evaluations can be subjective and time demanding. Recent studies have demonstrated the potential of spectroscopy-based methods for establishing parameters of quality in the analysis of food products, including coffee. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of ATR-FTIR and chemometrics to discriminate espresso coffees with different sensory characteristics reported by a panel of coffee tasters. The results showed good consistency among coffee tasters. PLS-DA models based on spectroscopic data were able to classify samples according to sensory attributes, confirming the potential of FTIR and chemometrics in coffee quality evaluation.