Organoleptic, Sensory and Biochemical Traits of Arabica Coffee and their Arabusta Hybrids

Abstract

Coffee as a cash crop, reduces food insecurity by providing regular incomes and is a major foreign exchange earner in more than fifty tropical countries where it is grown either as Arabica (Coffea arabica) or Robust (Coffea canepora). In Kenya which grow some Robusta but mostly Arabica coffee, the production has been declining, mainly because world coffee prices have plummeted to about 5 USD for a 650Kg of un-hulled beans per acre. The only way world prices are likely to increase and benefit the small-scale farmers, is by improving the cup quality and enabling these countries to sell their coffee in specialty markets. This review, underscores the importance of analyzing and estimating organoleptic, sensory and biochemical compounds diversity in Arabica coffee, since these are the factors that determine cup quality. In an attempt to do so, the chapter presents experimental data that analyzed various sensory and organoleptic traits of Arabica coffee and their Arabusta hybrids that proves that tremendous genetic diversity exists in coffee genotypes grown in Kenya and it is possible to utilize this genetic variation to improve cup quality.