Desarrollo de una metodología estandarizada preliminar para la realización de fermentaciones anaeróbicas con miras a mejorar la calidad de la bebida del café (Coffea arabica)

Coffee is a plant from which the beverage of the same name is obtained, and its species Coffea
canephora and Coffea arabica are of the greatest economic importance worldwide. C. arabica
represents 60% of global production and is cultivated in Costa Rica. The seeds obtained from the
ripe fruits undergo a process known as coffee milling, which has various stages until the dry, whole,
or ground beans are obtained, which are used to prepare the beverage. One of the stages of this
process includes fermentations involving bacteria and yeasts that directly affect the quality of the
bean and the beverage, producing special aromas and flavors characterized by sensory tests.
Homogeneity in the quality of the final product is not always guaranteed, among other reasons,
because current milling practices are not standardized, leading to low-quality batches, increased
production costs, and decreased competitiveness. The present proposal aims to establish a
standardized methodology for carrying out anaerobic fermentations that improve the quality of the
coffee beverage (Coffea arabica). To this end, anaerobic coffee-fermenting microorganisms will be
isolated from different farms of already identified Costa Rican producers. A molecular
characterization of the microorganisms will be carried out, and subsequently, they will be isolated,
cultivated, and selected, ending this stage with the formulation of a microbial mix from which the
inoculum to be used in the fermentations will be developed. Later, the conditions for anaerobic
fermentation of the fruits will be optimized using bioreactors to obtain fermented coffee; on the other
hand, there will be unfermented coffee, which will serve to compare with the fermented, quantifying
compounds of interest in both cases, and thus, the chemical and sensory changes of the
fermentations carried out will be evaluated. These chemical and sensory tests will be performed by
CITA of the UCR. The results will benefit artisanal coffee growers by providing them with tools and
knowledge to improve the quality and consistency of their coffee, thus increasing their
competitiveness in national and international markets.

Establecer una metodología estandarizada preliminar para la realización
de fermentaciones anaeróbicas que mejoren la calidad de la bebida del café (Coffea arabica)

1. Bioprocesos
2. Biotecnología Vegetal