Caffeine content of Honduran coffee on the Czech market

Kateřina Beránková

Bachelor's thesis

Abstract:

Many elements, including internal factors such as coffee terroir and post-harvest techniques like roasting and external ones like caffeine content, have a great impact on coffee’s complex flavour. However, the relationship between caffeine content and sensory attributes in coffee is a subject of ongoing research. The main aim of the thesis, which focuses on both specialty and commercial coffee, was to determine the strength of a correlation between caffeine content and sensory characteristics in Honduran coffee, if any, using HPLC, sensory analysis, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. Results of correlation coefficient analysis revealed that there was only a very weak and negligible indication of a relationship between caffeine content and various coffee attributes. Overall, the findings showed that there was no significant relationship between caffeine content and sensory properties including flavour, aroma, or colour. The study provided evidence that caffeine content does not necessarily correlate with certain sensory attributes, highlighting the complexity of factors that contribute to coffee taste and quality. The thesis should help further research to explore potential mechanisms underlying the relationship between caffeine and coffee sensory properties which could eventually help to acquire knowledge that would help growers and roasters in optimizing their processes and producing coffee with the desired profile.

Keywords

Coffea arabica, sensory analysis, HPLC, specialty coffee, commercial coffee beans

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 14. 4. 2023

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: Ing. Olga Leuner, Ph.D.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences

Bachelor programme:
International Cooperation in Agricultural and Rural Development