The parchment coffee has been conquering more and more space in the several coffee growing regions. By taking into account the several questionings upon the quality of the berries resulting from this sort of processing, the few studies on the subject and the contradictions observed in the results obtained up to now, the present study aimed to characterize the quality of the parchment coffee produced in the Southern region of Minas Gerais state as well as to assess the influence of the altitude on the quality of these coffees by means of physical, chemical and sensorial analyses of the samples in their original state and after removal of defective beans. Crops of coffee enterprises situated in ranges of altitude varying from 720 to 920 meters and from 920 to 1120 meters were randomly selected. The coffee samples of the 2001/2202 crop were duly collected on 32 farms distributed in 10 towns. At the "Polo de Tecnologia em Qualidade do Café" of the "Universidade Federal de Lavras" (UFLA), the following analyses were performed: water content, total titrable acidity, total sugars and sensorial analyses. The physical, chemical and sensorial analyses accomplished on coffee beans showed that: most parchment coffees present water content bellow the value recommended; the average values of total titrable acidity and total sugars in all the samples analyzed lie within the values characteristic of fine beverages; hard beverage occurs in 75% of the parchment coffee samples with the presence of the defects; the coffees without the presence of the defects produced in the range of altitude of 920 to 1120 meters present body and acidity weaker and sweetness higher than the ones produced in the range of 720 to 920 meters; higher altitudes enable the production of better quality coffees.
Quality; coffee parchment; altitude; defect; souther of minas
