Distinguishing the region-of-origin of roasted coffee beans with trace element ratios. (1st August 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bitter, Nicholas Q.; Fernandez, Diego P.; Driscoll, Avery W.; Howa, John D.; Ehleringer, James R.
• Is Part Of: Food chemistry. Volume 320(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-08-01
• Subjects: Minerals -- ICPMS -- Element abundances -- Geographic -- Geolocation -- Coffee Arabica; Food -- Analysis -- Periodicals; Food -- Composition -- Periodicals; 664
• DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2020.126602
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0308-8146

Abstract

Highlights: Roasted coffee from 21 countries is analyzed for trace element composition. We use trace element ratios to minimize roasting related changes. Many coffee-producing regions are distinguishable with trace element ratios. Abstract: Determining coffee region-of-origin is most appropriately addressed through analyses of the product available to the consumer. We analyzed the concentrations of 44 trace elements in 53 samples of roasted Arabica coffee beans ( Coffea arabica ) from 21 different countries. Variations in absolute elemental concentrations of coffee beans arise through varying degrees of roasting (from green through dark roasts). Since trace elements are not volatilized at roasting temperatures, we conducted analyses of element ratios to evaluate concentration-related differences among beans of different origins. We used kernel density estimates to compare the distributions of 1892 element ratios for each of these countries with the combined distribution of coffee samples from the other countries. Using this quantitative approach, we demonstrated that many of the world's coffee-producing regions can be distinguished from other regions of the world on the basis of element ratios.