Harvest, Post-Harvest and Coffee Quality

**Chapter 4**

**Abstract**

coffee quality.

**1. Introduction**

**59**

Maillard reaction, speciality coffee

Coffee Quality

*Mesfin Haile and Won Hee Kang*

The Harvest and Post-Harvest

Management Practices' Impact on

Coffee is one of the most important agricultural commodities in the world. The coffee quality is associated with pre-harvest and post-harvest management activities. Each step starting from selecting the best coffee variety for plantation until the final coffee drink preparation determines the cupping quality. The overall coffee quality influenced by the factors which involve in changes the physicochemical properties and sensorial attributes, including the post-harvest operations. The postharvest processing activities contribute about 60% of the quality of green coffee beans. The post-harvest operations include pulping, processing, drying, hulling, cleaning, sorting, grading, storage, roasting, grinding, and cupping. This chapter comprises the harvest and post-harvest operations of coffee and their impacts on

**Keywords:** digestive bioprocessing, coffee cherry, caramelization,

Coffee trees are widely grown in tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America [1]. The world annual coffee production estimated 158.6 million 60-kg bags as of 2017/2018, up from 148.6 million 60-kg bags in 2014/2015. South America, Asia and Oceania, Mexico and Central America, and Africa produced as presented, respectively, 81.5, 47.7, 21.7, and 17.8 million 60-kg bags of coffee. The genus *Coffea* belongs to the *Rubiaceae* family and holds more than 90 different species. However, only *Coffea arabica*, *Coffea canephora*, and *Coffea liberica* are commercially important [1]. Arabica coffee accounts for about 64%, while *C. canephora* accounts for about 35% of the world's production; other species with not much commercial value like *Coffea liberica* and *Coffea excelsa* represent only 1% [2]. The quality of coffee is affected by a series of multiple factors. In broad categories, two factors affect coffee quality, namely, pre-harvest and post-harvest factors [3]. The pre-harvest factors set approximately 40% of the sensory attributes and physical and chemical properties of the coffee beans and the remaining 60% of the coffee quality established by the post-harvest processing [4]. Following harvesting, coffee cherries go through a complex series of post-harvest processing steps to be in a more stable, transportable, and roastable form. The initial post-harvest processing steps have a significant role in ensuring the safe changes of
