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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.
Sec. Crop Biology and Sustainability
Volume 9 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2025.1497350

Sensory characterization of the Ethiopian germplasm of Coffea arabica L. conserved in the Colombian Coffee Collection

Provisionally accepted

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The sensory quality of coffee (Coffea arabica L.) has become increasingly important and is considered the best way to increase the competitiveness and profitability of the sector. Given the narrow genetic base cultivated, the use of its genetic resources conserved in germplasm banks is particularly relevant, especially for germplasm collected in Ethiopia, the country from which coffee originated and the center of its diversity of profiles. However, the potential benefits of using these resources is unknown.Therefore, the objective of this study was to characterize the Ethiopian germplasm conserved in the Colombian Coffee Collection (CCC) to determine its variability and potential for use. The sensory qualities of drinks from 378 accessions of CCC were characterized. The results showed that 34% of the accessions evaluated presented sensory descriptors different from those of the traditional varieties.For the Global Impression attribute, the highest scores were associated with citrus, spice and floral notes. Additionally, prospecting rather than the area of origin of the germplasm influenced its sensory diversity, possibly due to the established objectives of the collection. The conserved germplasm exhibited important sensory variability, which is linked to rare descriptors in traditional varieties.Characterization activities of genetic resources, such as those conducted in this study, add value and serve as an initial step toward their application in breeding. The results obtained allow the selection of Eliminado: diversity 27 Eliminado: diversity 28 Con formato: Sin Resaltar PAGE \* Arabic \* MERGEFORMAT 16 genotypes with distinct sensory profiles, which can be incorporated into genetic improvement programs aimed at developing future varieties with these attributes. Eliminado: highlighted by the organoleptic quality of the drink that 59 can be incorporated as progenitors of future varieties of coffee with 60 outstanding quality in the drink and differentiated sensory 61 descriptors. This process enables future commercial expansion of 62 these market niches for the well-recognized Colombian coffee.

    Keywords: Genetic resources, plant breeding, Coffee organoleptic quality, Sensory diversity Con formato: Inglés (Estados Unidos), Sin Tachado, Sin Resaltar Con formato: Inglés (Estados Unidos)

    Received: 16 Sep 2024; Accepted: 15 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Arias Suarez, Lopez-Monsalve, Medina Rivera and Flórez-Ramos. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Juan Carlos Arias Suarez, National Research Center of Coffee (CENICAFE), Manizales, Colombia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.