Fermentação de cafés em escala industrial em biorreator de 15.000 L: Efeitos da adição de água e inóculo

Abstract

The increase in the consumption of coffees with superior sensory quality and uniqueness has intensified in recent years, which generates the need to expand the production scale to ensure supply to the consumer market. In this context, fermentation, whether in solid or submerged state, is a strategy applied with the objective of improving the sensory quality of coffees, adding value to the product. The use of bioreactors on an industrial scale emerges as a promising alternative to guarantee the production of specialty coffees by optimizing the fermentation process, reducing fermentation time and ensuring quality and reproducibility between batches. In this work, the fermentation of Arara coffees in solid and submerged state, with and without the addition of starter culture, as well as the fermentation of Arabica coffees in solid state, also with and without the addition of starter culture, were studied using a 15,000 L industrial scale stainless steel bioreactor with temperature control for 48 hours. The experiments were evaluated for their effects on the physical-chemical composition of the coffees and on the sensory quality of the beverage, according to the SCA protocol and consumer acceptance. As a result, the fermentation processes proved to be effective and had a positive impact on the production of specialty coffees, increasing the sensory complexity and score of the beverage, especially when using the starter culture Saccharomyces cerevisiae RX60, showing that the use of 15,000 L industrial bioreactors with temperature control for 48 hours is a promising strategy to ensure quality and innovation in the coffee sector.