The maintenance of the sensorial characteristics of a certain brand of roasted and ground coffee, to each production of a new lot, has been one of the largest difficulties faced by the roasted processors, due to the heterogeneity of the raw material used in the elaboration of the blends. The chemical composition of the raw coffee is responsible for the sensorial attributes of the drink. The flavour is formed during the roasted process and variations in these components cart differentiated drink. Based on to this fact, samples of eleven trademarks of toasted and ground coffee, marketed in the South of Minas Gerais, were collected in the months of January, April and July, and analyzed for the levels of aqueous extract, ethereal extract and caffeine. The results demonstrated differences among the appraised marks and among the collection times; the interaction between both being significant for all the analyzed variables. Only the caffeine content didn't present a difference between the makes, during the month of January. The results obtained for aqueous extract, ether extract and caffeine were within the limits of current law. Differences were observed in the values of the variables studied for a single make in the collection time, demonstrating the need for larger standardization of the raw material used and for the process of blends for the production of the toasted and ground coffee.
roasted coffee; caffeine; aqueous extract; ethere extract; quality
