The NIRS technique: a reliable tool for the characterization of the chemical compounds of parchment coffee

During the last decades, the Near Infrared Spectroscopy – NIRS technique has been consolidated as an optimal secondary analytical method for the determination of different quality parameters in products of the agri-food sector. Its use to quickly evaluate samples with minimal processing and to achieve the correlation of their properties through various statistical tools are among its characteristics. NIRS has been used to determine the chemical compounds of coffee as well as the qualitative classification of its physical characteristics such as humidity percentage, sensory quality, roasting degrees, and identification of species and region, among others. This allows to demonstrate its wide range of implementation possibilities in the production chain. For several years Cenicafé has developed a method that uses the NIRS technique to estimate the main chemical compounds of green coffee, which allows supporting research and regional characterizations of the coffee produced in the Colombian coffee zone in order to contribute to coffee quality defense and positioning. The objective of this seminar is to share aspects related to the NIRS technique, its basic concepts, its relevant results, the current state of progress in its research at Cenicafé, and its projections.