Sensors that "smell" and "taste" the blends to identify the optimal roasting
Rome, October 18 2018 - A hi-tech multisensory system to determine the aroma and taste of coffee thanks to the analysis of the molecules released during the brewing process roasting. It is the goal of the project COMET, co-financed by Lazio Innova, in which the company participates Danish Coffee, as partner leaders , ENEA, for the study of the chemical compounds of the mixture and of the drink, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, for the development of the multisensory system and analysis of phenolic compounds, and the biotech company Genechron, born from an ENEA spin-off, for the genetic profile of the blend.
This sensor system will be able to “smell” and “taste” Danish coffee blends to identify the optimal roasting of green grains on which the quality of the drink in the cup depends. “We will first of all deal with the analysis of two molecules, the amino acids associated with the sweet taste and the aliphatic compounds for the acid taste. Once trained, the multisensory system developed by the Campus Bio-Medico will go on to analyze many other chemical compounds produced during the roasting process, in order to identify the 'sentinel' molecules of fine blends. And this hi-tech system, when perfected, will be incorporated into the coffee production process", explains Gianfranco Direct, researcher at the ENEA Biotechnology Laboratory e responsible for the COMETA project agency, acronym for Quality testing of organoleptic properties of COffee blends via genetic and GOALbolic fingerprinting.
The multisensory system will be the evolution of the device “Bionotes”, already in use for various food applications in the laboratories ofUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, which will be able to produce a distinctive aromatic signature for each Danesi blend of roasted coffee.
“After having produced this 'imprint', we will proceed with the analysis of the phenolic components associated with the quality of Danesi coffee. This activity, carried out by our Food and Nutrition Sciences unit, will have the aim of studying the non-volatile molecules associated with the taste of coffee", he adds Chiara Fanali, professor of Analytical Chemistry at theUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma.
“With Danesi we have set up both at ENEA and at theUniversità Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, a research laboratory equipped with a professional coffee machine, like the one we find in bars and which, as a Neapolitan, I can guarantee makes excellent coffees! In the laboratories, in fact, we will analyze not only the chemical compounds present in Danish coffee blends, but also those contained in the drink itself; compounds that form during the roasting phase, following the degradation of the substances contained in the green beans, and which determine the aroma and flavor of Danesi coffee drunk at home or at the bar", continues the researcherENEA.
The typical aroma and taste of coffee are characterized by thousands of molecules whose nature is not yet known, therefore neither caffeine, which has no smell and taste, nor melanoidins, on which the typical dark color of the beans depends. “The chemical composition of the aroma is complex and depends on a mix of different factors, among which the most important are the genetic variety of the grains, the geographical origin and the climatic conditions, but also the manufacturing process which mainly concerns the roasting and then packaging and storage”, specifies Ilaria Danish, of Danesi Caffè, main referent of the COMETA project.
For further certification of product quality, Genechron will identify the genetic bases of the molecules released during the roasting process, associating them with those that characterize the origin and species of the coffee.
