1.

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

Indonesia is one of the greatest producers of coffee in the world.

Because of this, it can be the source of Indonesia's foreign exchange. Even
so, the quality of coffee from Indonesia still questionable because of the
lack of technology and practice. Some farmers can have top quality coffee
bean but if it's handled poorly, the quality of the coffee bean can be
significantly decreased. Besides that, the coffee tree also needs to be
handled to maintain the quality of the coffee, but some coffee trees are
really vulnerable to pest and some disease so some farmers will choose the
most invulnerable and cheapest coffee tree.

There are some things that can affect the quality and taste of coffee
such as, the variety of the coffee, the nursing of the coffee tree, and the post-
harvest processing of coffee bean. In Indonesia, the post-harvest process of
the coffee bean is still lacking, which will decrease the quality of the coffee
significantly. The post-harvest process such as fermentation, drying, and
roasting will affect the quality and the taste of the coffee.

The fermentation process of coffee bean can be done naturally

without the help of human because there are microbes which can ferment
the coffee bean which called dry process. But some producers of coffee use
the wet process which use water to help the fermentation. In the wet
process, the coffee beans are pulped, fermented, and washed after
fermentation.

The drying process of coffee bean can be done in two ways, it can be
done naturally or with the help of a machine. The natural drying process is
done with sunlight until all the coffee beans are dry. But it is important to
note that with the natural drying process the coffee bean can be
contaminated by dirt or insect. Different from the natural drying process, the
machine drying process used the machine to reduce the water content by
evaporating the water in the coffee beans.

Generally, there are three roasting levels of coffee which are light
roast, medium roast, and dark roast. Light roast use 193 0C-1990C and
reducing the water content up to 5%, medium roast use 2040C-2050C and
reducing water content up to 8%, the dark roast use 2130-2210C and
reducing the water content up to 14% (Varnam and Sutherland,1994). The
higher the roast level the darker the coffee bean will be, this colour
reduction can be analyzed by their Lovibond value, the light roast has 44-45
L, the medium roast has 38-40 L, and dark roast has 34-35 L (Mulato,
2002). These roasting level can affect the flavour of the coffee because in
the roasting process there are some flavour substances that will be formed or
lost. Some of the substances are phenol, amino acid, alcohol, acetone, and
caffein (Ciptadi & Nasution, 1985).

Because of fermentation is the first factor which affects the quality

and the taste of the coffee after the coffee beans are harvested, this research
will evaluate the effect of adding lactic acid bacteria to the fermentation of
coffee beans.

1.2 Formulation of problem

The main problem is how to improve the quality and the taste of the
coffee that can be accepted by the consumer.

1.3 Objective

In this research, the main objective is to evaluate the effect of coffee

fermentation by lactic acid bacteria on the quality and taste of the coffee.

1.4 Research methodology

This research use three observation which are physical quality

observation, chemical properties, and sensory evaluation of the coffee bean.
The physical quality is determined by visual observation, the chemical
properties are determined by HPLC, and the sensory evaluation is done by
organoleptic test by coffee experts or trained panellist.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Coffee

There are some variety of coffee in the world which are arabica
coffee, robusta coffee, liberica coffee, and also some wild variety of coffee
that are native to some region. In the coffee industry, the arabica coffee and
the robusta coffee are the most produced. These varieties are chosen because
of these varieties can easily adapt to the environment, especially the robusta
coffee which can withstand some kind of pests and disease thus reducing the
production cost. Arabica coffee and robusta coffee have a different content
level of caffeine, chlorogenic acids, sugars, and amines. (Andueza et al.
2004)

2.2 Fermentation

Fermentation is one of the oldest technology for food product to

improve the quality of the product such as extending the shelf life and
improve the organoleptic quality of the product (Smid and Hugenholtz
2010). It is said the fermentation is a metabolic process of deriving energy
from organic compounds without the involvement of an exogenous
oxidizing agent (Ramesh and Joshi, 2014). Fermentation have some roles in
food processing which are generate inhibitory metabolites such as organic
acid (Gaggia et al. 2011), inhibit the growth of pathogen (Adams and
Nicolaides 2008), improving the nutritional value (Poutanen et al. 2009 and
van Boekel et al. 2010), and improve organoleptic quality (Lacroix et al.
2010, Sicard and Legras 2011).

In the process of fermentation, the microorganisms that usually used

are bacteria, yeast, and moulds. The bacteria that usually used is lactic acid
bacteria which will produce lactic acid from carbohydrates in the process.
Bacteria from bacillus species can trigger the alkaline fermentation which
causing hydrolysis of protein to amino acids and peptides also ammonia
thus creating an alkaline environment. The yeast that usually used in
fermentation is Saccharomyces, yeast usually used in the production of
wine, beer, and ethanol due to its enzymes (Sicard and Legras 2011). The
yeast in the fermentation can lower the acidity of the food product by
degrading the malic acid into ethanol and carbon dioxide. Besides the
bacteria and yeast, mould could also be used for fermentation of food
product.

Fermentation can be classified into several fermentations such as

ethanol fermentation, acetic acid, and lactic acid bacteria fermentation. In
the ethanol fermentation, glucose will be converted into ethanol C 2H5OH
and carbon dioxide (CO2) as a by-product. One molecule glucose can be
converted into two molecules of ethanol and two molecules of carbon
dioxide (CO2) by pyruvate. Yeasts can do this reaction in the absence of
oxygen. There are 3 steps in this process which are enzymes invertase
cleaves the glycosidic linkage in disaccharide sucrose between the glucose
and fructose molecules, then the glucose molecule is broken down into
pyruvate molecule, then the pyruvate will be converted to ethanol and
carbon dioxide (CO2). Lactic acid bacteria fermentation is done by using
lactic acid bacteria such as lactobacillus. Lactic acid fermentation will retain
all the natural plant ingredients while improving the quality, taste, and
aroma. The mechanism of lactic acid fermentation is the lactic acid bacteria
will produce acid which will lower the pH of the food product to a level
where most of the spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms unable to grow,
thus the food product will have a longer shelf life. In the acetic acid
fermentation, the bacteria that is used is acetic acid bacteria which convert
sugar or ethanol and produce acetic acid. Usually, this fermentation is used
in the making of vinegar. (Mani, 2018)

Different from the fermentation in other food product which to

increase the shelf life, coffee fermentation is usually only used for
improving the cup quality of the coffee. The quality of coffee is determined
at the farm level and the processing technique, faulty and unclean
processing practices can generate off-taste in the coffee beverages, one of
the most important processes is the fermentation. The fermentation process
in coffee processing is concerned with the degradation of mucilage (a
slippery layer around the seed). The main aim of this process are to
breakdown the mucilage, improve the outer appearances, and to secure the
liquor quality. The fermentation of coffee will degrade the complex
substance which is the mucilage into simpler sugar also lower the pH of the
coffee, the thicker the mucilage the longer fermentation needed. The
improvement of the quality of coffee such as flavour, aroma, and acidity in
naturally fermented coffee is because the fermentation process will involve
microbes to the coffee which can produce different flavouring compound.
Even fermentation is involving microbes, the fermentation process still can
inhibit the growth of harmful fungal population due to its wide variety of
bacterial and yeast in the fermentation process. (Kulandaivelu, 2012)

2.3 Microorganisms in coffee fruits

The fermentation of coffee is caused by some microorganisms that

can survive in the physicochemical changes in the coffee beans such as
sugar content, moistures, and pH. The higher water activity in the coffee
beans will initiate faster fermentation but it must be noted that the bacteria
fermentation in coffee beans will eventually be replaced by the yeast
fermentation or some species of fungi. The bacteria in the fermentation
process will degrade the pectin and mucilage in the coffee beans thus
became the carbon source for microbial growth.

2.3.1 Bacteria

Bacteria in the fermentation of coffee is so diverse, some research

found gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. In the report bacteria such
as Streptococcus faecali, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Lactobacillus
plantarum, Lactobacillus brevis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Lactococcus
lactis, P. mirabilis, Paenibacillus amylolyticus, Tatumella ptyseos, B.
subtills, Acinetobacter (Silva et al, 2000). Some of these bacteria can
provide the lysis of mucilage by producing pectin lyase and
polygalacturonase to help the degradation of pectin which will break down
the chemical structure of mucilage. The bacteria activity in the coffee
fermentation process will produce organic acids as a byproduct of
fermentation by bacteria.

2.3.2 Yeasts

The yeasts can be found in natural fermentation due to their ability

to degrade the mucilage based on the production of pectin lyase and
polygalacturonase by the yeasts. The yeast population in coffee fermentation
is lower than the population of bacteria. Some species from Pichia,
Candida, and Arxula genus are found in the fermentation of coffee beans.
Yeast such as Citeromyces matritensis, Candida fermentati, C. Incommunis,
Arxula adeninivorans, P. aubpelliculosa, P. aiferii, P. anomala, and
Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be found in the coffee beans fermentation
(Silva et al, 2008). The yeasts in the coffee fermentation also can control the
filamentous fungi.

2.3.3 Filamentous fungi

The filamentous fungi can be found at the end of the fermentation

process and during storage, this means that fungi are not present when the
fermentation process occurs. But the fungi in the coffee beans is reported
will reduce the sensory quality of coffee beverage, because of the ability to
produce some acid as the byproduct of the fungi metabolites. Some fungi
such as Aspergillus flavus, A. fumigatus, A. niger, A. parasiticus, A.
sydowii, A. tamarii, A. terreus, Cladosporium cladosporioides, C. herbarum,
C. macrocarpum, Fusarium oxysporum, Penicillium albidum, P.
brevicompactum, P. chrysogenum, P. citrinum, P. cyclopium, P.
funiculosum, P. jenseni can be found in the coffee. Also Cladosporium
cladosporioides might be found which is a fungus that also found in high-
quality beverages (Pereira et al. 2005)

2.4 Flavour precursor

The most affecting flavour precursors in coffee are carbohydrates,

chlorogenic acids, lipids, and some amines. The carbohydrates in coffee
beans will be degraded by the fermentation process which can produce
simple sugars that can produce some acids and volatile compound during
the roasting process. The lipids and amines also can be degraded during the
roasting process thus produce some metabolites that can affect the flavour of
the coffee (Poisson et al, 2017).

2.5 Lactobacillus acidophilus

Lactobacillus acidophilus is one of lactic acid bacteria. This bcateria

can grow with or without the presence of oxygen. This bacteria also can
prevent the growth of patogen such as Salmonella thypimurium (Xiaodong
et al, 2009). In some research, Lactobacillus acidophilus is reported that it
can grow at 35-380C but it can’t grow below 150C, has optimum pH of 5,5-
6, can digest asetic acid, niacin, calcium, also can produce threonine
aldolase and alcohol dehydrogenase which can affet the food aroma
(Kanbe,1992).

3. METHODOLOGY

3.1 Coffee fermentation with lactic acid bacteria

 The variety used in this process is arabica coffee beans which have
been pulped. The fermentation treatments are T1= fermented with
Lactobacillus acidophilus for 12 hours, T2= fermented with Lactobacillus
acidophilus for 24 hours, T3= fermented with Lactobacillus acidophilus for
48 hours. After the fermentation process is done, then the coffee beans are
washed and dried, then roasted to medium roast.

3.2 Quality evaluation

The physical quality evaluation refers to SNI 01-2907-2008. And the

sensory quality evaluation refers to Specialty Coffee Association of America
(SCAA), with the parameters are aroma, flavour, body, acidity, balance,
uniformity, clean cup, aftertaste, and overall. This sensory evaluation is
done by 3 coffee expert or trained panellists.

3.3 Organic acids test

The organic acids test is done by HPLC (High Performace Liquid

Chromatography) to non-fermented coffee beans, fermented coffee beans,
and coffee beans that fermented by lactic acids bacteria.