Under two contrasting light regimes (full sun and 45% shade) and the optimal coffee-growing conditions of the central valley of Costa Rica, production pattern, bean characteristics and beverage quality were assessed over two production cycles on dwarf coffee (Coffea arabica L. cv. Costa Rica 95) trees with varying fruit loads (quarter, half and full loads) imposed by manual fruit thinning. Shade decreased coffee tree productivity by 18% but reduced alternate bearing. Shade positively affected bean size and composition as well as beverage quality by delaying berry flesh ripening by up to 1 month. Higher sucrose, chlorogenic acid and trigonelline contents in sun-grown beans pointed towards incomplete bean maturation and explained the higher bitterness and astringency of the coffee beverage. Higher fruit loads reduced bean size owing to carbohydrate competition among berries during bean filling. These results have important implications in terms of agricultural management (shade, fruit thinning, tree pruning) to help farmers increase coffee plantation sustainability, produce coffee beans of larger size and higher quality and ultimately improve their revenues, especially during times of world overproduction.

To better know the cup quality of Honduran coffee, a study was carried out on samples from 52 Arabica coffee plots spread throughout 6 producing regions in Honduras. The aim was to identify environmental and agronomic factors that affect coffee quality. Biochemical and physical characteristics of coffees after roasting were used to link quality descriptors to these variables by means of multiple factor analyses. Coffees of superior quality came from the Olancho and El Paraíso regions. High altitudes and annual rainfall of under 1500 mm were favorable factors for the sensory quality. An optimum roasting time must be sought for each type of coffee, hence for each terroir.