Identification of potential quality markers in Indonesia’s Arabica specialty coffee using GC/MS-based metabolomics approach

INTRODUCTION: The cupping test is a widely used method for quality assessment of Arabica coffee. However, the cupping test is limited by the low number of certified panelists and the low throughput. Therefore, an analytical-based quality assessment may be a promising tool to complement the cupping test. A present, there is no report investigating quality marker candidates, focusing only on “specialty” grade Arabica coffee from Indonesia. OBJECTIVE: This study identified the potential quality marker(s) in Arabica Specialty coffee at different stages (green beans, roasted beans, and brewed coffee. METHODS: The metabolite profiles of ten different Arabica specialty-grade coffees were analyzed with different cup scores using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS). From the ten samples, green coffee beans, roasted coffee beans, and brewed coffee were selected. In addition, an orthogonal projection to latent structure (OPLS) regression analysis was conducted to obtain a potential quality marker based on the variable importance in projection (VIP). The potential quality marker(s) were validated by GC/MS metabolome profiling and OPLS analysis of different sets of samples consisting of 35 Arabica specialty-grade coffee samples. RESULTS: In Arabica coffee samples, the OPLS model of the three stages showed galactinol to have a high VIP score. Galactinol showed a consistent positive correlation with cup scores at all stages of coffee production (green beans, roasted beans, and brewed coffee). The correlation suggests galactinol is a potential quality marker after further validation using different samples. CONCLUSION: GC/MS combined with OPLS regression analysis suggested galactinol as a quality marker and provide an early screening method for Arabica coffee quality that complements the cupping test performed by certified panelists. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11306-023-02051-5.