Sensory descriptors of cocoa beans from cultivated trees of Soconusco, Chiapas, Mexico

Abstract

The odor and taste profile of cocoa bean samples obtained from trees cultivated in southern Mexico were evaluated by trained panelists. Seven representative samples (groups) of a total of 45 were analyzed. Four attributes of taste (sweetness, bitterness, acidity and astringency), and nine of odor (chocolate, nutty, hazelnut, sweet, acidity, roasted, spicy, musty and off-odor) were evaluated. A sample (G7) with higher scores in sweet taste and sweet and nutty odors was detected, as well as a high association between these descriptors and the sample, analyzed through principal component analysis (PCA). Similarly, samples that showed high scores for non-desired odors in cocoas such as off-odor and musty were identified and related by PCA to roasted odor and astringent taste (G2 and G4). Based on this scores, the samples were listed in descending order by their sensory quality as G7> G5> G6> G3> G1> G4> G2.Keywords: quantitative descriptive analysis; Criollo cocoa; chocolate odor; spicy odor.Practical Application: Descriptors generated are useful for characterizing the sensory quality of cocoa grown in southern Mexico.

Abiotic Factors from Different Ecuadorian Regions and Their Contribution to Antioxidant, Metabolomic and Organoleptic Quality of Theobroma cacao L. Beans, Variety “Arriba Nacional”

“…Before the evaluation, 100 g of raw beans from each representative group of the Amazonian, Andean and coastal regions was cleaned, the rind was removed, and the beans were ground into small pieces. A total of 30 sealed plastic containers were prepared for taste and aroma, each one with a content of 1.5 g of ground beans, modified from [ 65 ]. The containers were sealed and left for 6 h at a temperature of 28 °C to promote the accumulation of volatiles.…”

Time-Related Changes in Volatile Compounds during Fermentation of Bulk and Fine-Flavor Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) Beans

“…However, volatiles with potentially undesirable rancid, waxy, or sulfurous aroma including propanoic acid, cyclohexanol, and thiobis-methane, as well as compounds with no database aroma records such as 1-amino-1-ortho-chlorophenyl-2-(2-quinoxaliny)ethene, and undecylamine were among the main compounds in Criollo cacao after a 3-day fermentation period. Normal presence of waxy, rancid, and sulfurous aroma compounds has been reported in cocoa samples from various origins [30] and has been related to inappropriate posthandling of the pods [31] but the reported overall effect of undesirable compounds on sensory scores of fermented Criollo cacao has been low [29]. Similarly, Nacional cacao showed predominant amounts of volatiles with fruity, green, and woody aromas at the end of the fermentation (3 days), including 2-nonanone, 3-octen-1-ol, 2-octanol acetate, 2-undecanone, valencene, and aromadendrene.…”

Relationship between bioactive compounds and sensory properties of dark chocolate produced from Brazilian hybrid cocoa

“…Vázquez‐Ovando et al . (2015) found that the scores were higher for the sour taste than for the bitter taste for cocoa beans from the Sonosco cultivar (Chiapas, Mexico). The authors reported that cocoa from different regions of the world present different contents of organic acids, monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosaccharides, and some L‐amino acids, depending on the latitude and climate, which have a determining impact on attributes as sourness and sweetness.…”