Browsing by Autor "Maria Antonia Madrid-Restrepo"

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Metagenomic, metabolomic and sensorial characteristics of fermented <i>Coffea arabica</i> L. var. Castillo beans inoculated with microbial starter cultures
(2025) Maria Antonia Madrid-Restrepo; Ana M. León-Inga; Aida Esther Penuela; Mónica P. Cala; Alejandro Reyes
ABSTRACT Coffee is one of the most important and widely consumed drinks around the world, and fermentation plays a pivotal role in shaping its quality. This research explores the impact of co-fermentation with “starter cultures” on the sensory and metabolic profiles, as well as in the microbial communities involved in coffee processing. Freshly harvested Arabica coffee beans were subjected to two wet-fermentation processes, where one was inoculated with a microbial starter culture and the other, spontaneous fermentation was allowed to occur. Quantitative descriptive analysis revealed that the inoculated coffee outperformed the spontaneous fermentation in all sensory attributes, boasting a higher sweetness, reduced acidity and bitterness, and presence of consumer-preferred notes. Untargeted metabolomic analysis identified over a hundred differential metabolites distinguishing both fermentation processes in green and roasted coffee beans. Inoculated coffee displayed elevated levels of compounds such as sucrose, mannitol, methyl phenylacetate, and organic acids like malic, citric, and quinic acid, compounds likely associated with a better sensory perception. The inoculated process featured abundant lactic acid bacteria and Kazachstania yeasts, which are linked to desirable metabolites like lactic, acetic, isobutyric, and hexanoic acids. Our results strongly suggest that the use of starter cultures can enhance coffee beverage quality as determined by standardized cupping and reflected by changes in the metabolic profile and microbial community structures. Future studies should focus on microbial identification and the association between species and resulting metabolic compounds, where specific bacterial and fungal groups could be isolated to be used as commercially available starter cultures for coffee fermentation. IMPORTANCE Our study demonstrates that inoculating coffee fermentation alters the sensory qualities of coffee and affects the dynamics of bacterial and fungal communities during this process. We identified specific changes in microbial diversity and associated metabolite profiles resulting from inoculation. Notably, we found that inoculation influences the metabolite composition of coffee beans and identified key compounds, such as aminophenol and phenol, which are likely linked to phenolic defects. This suggests that inoculation could serve as a tool to control cup defects by modifying the fermentation microbiota. Our findings advance the understanding of coffee fermentation and open opportunities for developing techniques to produce coffee with unique and desirable qualities.
Metagenomic, Metabolomic and Sensorial Characteristics of Fermented Coffea Arabica L. VAR. Castillo Beans Inoculated with Microbial Starter Cultures
(RELX Group (Netherlands), 2024) Maria Antonia Madrid-Restrepo; Ana M. León-Inga; Aída Esther Peñuela-Martínez; Mónica P. Cala; Alejandro Reyes
Metagenomic, metabolomic, and sensorial characteristics of fermented <i>Coffea arabica</i> L. var. Castillo beans inoculated with microbial starter cultures
(American Society for Microbiology, 2025) Maria Antonia Madrid-Restrepo; Ana M. León-Inga; Aída Esther Peñuela-Martínez; Mónica P. Cala; Alejandro Reyes
Our study demonstrates that inoculating coffee fermentation alters the sensory qualities of coffee and reshapes the dynamics of bacterial and fungal communities during this process. We identified distinct changes in microbial diversity and metabolite composition associated with inoculation, which correlated with improved sensory attributes. In addition, we detected aminophenol and phenol at higher levels in spontaneously fermented coffees, compounds that are likely responsible for phenolic defects. To our knowledge, this is the first report directly linking these compounds to defective flavor notes in coffee. Together, these findings show that inoculation not only enhances desirable flavor profiles but may also serve as a strategy to reduce the risk of cup defects by modulating the fermentation microbiota. Our work advances the understanding of community-level microbial processes in coffee fermentation and opens opportunities for developing techniques to produce coffee with unique, high-quality, and reproducible sensory characteristics.