Atributos físicos e sensoriais do grão do café e seu comportamento espacial

Abstract

Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica L.) represents one of the most economically and socially relevant crops in Brazil, with beverage quality being an essential factor for its commercial value. This study aimed to evaluate the spatial variability of the physical attributes of coffee beans and the sensory attributes of the beverage, seeking to identify patterns and relationships between them. The research was conducted in a 27-hectare field at Fazenda Mandaguari, in Indianópolis-MG, cultivated with the Topázio cultivar under irrigation, where a grid of 50 georeferenced points was established for field attribute sampling. Based on data of altitude, soil attributes, and grain yield, zones of different potentials or homogeneous zones (HZ) were defined. In the laboratory, the manually harvested coffee beans, subjected to natural drying, were physically classified according to Normative Instruction No. 8/2003, with sieve analysis, defects evaluation (black, sour, green, bored, shell, and shell center beans), and coffee type classification. Subsequently, sensory analysis was performed following the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) protocol, conducted by Q-Graders, in the four zones of different potentials previously defined. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and geostatistics, resulting in thematic maps of the spatial distribution of the evaluated attributes. The results revealed significant variability among the zones, with Zone 3 standing out for achieving the highest sensory score (84.5 points), related to a higher proportion of beans retained in larger sieves (16 and 17) and lower occurrence of defects. On the other hand, Zone 4 showed the lowest sensory score (80.25 points), associated with a higher frequency of defects and predominance of smaller beans. The combined analysis showed that, although some defects such as green and black beans were present, positive attributes of body, aroma, and balance compensated for their effects in certain zones, allowing the achievement of superior beverage quality. Thus, the integration of physical and sensory attributes, combined with the use of Precision Agriculture tools, demonstrated that there is spatial variability in coffee quality for some attributes, reinforcing the potential of site-specific management strategies to add value to the product.