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Two cocoa types are predominantly being cultivated in Ecuador, the highly appreciated fine Nacional and the high-yielding and disease-resistant CCN51, classified as bulk. With the introduction of foreign germplasm in Ecuador and the international demand for high-quality Nacional cocoa, the present study aims to characterize and compare the flavor profile of Nacional hybrids (EET103, EET559, EET576 and EET577) and CCN51, and to assess the effect of the genotype. The fermented dried beans were processed into liquor and their sensory properties, volatile composition and odor fingerprint were analyzed by trained panelists, headspace–solid phase microextraction gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS–SPME–GC–MS), and GC electronic nose (e-nose), respectively, combined with multivariate statistics. Seventy volatiles were identified and semi-quantified, among them, 16 and 14 volatiles conferring fruity and floral aroma notes, respectively. CCN51 was mainly characterized by undesirable odor-active volatiles, whereas the EET cultivars contained the highest concentration of most fruity and floral volatiles, with differences in between EET cultivars. Sensory data highlighted organoleptic differences between the fine and bulk liquors, i.e. the fruity and acid EET flavor strongly differed from the bitter, astringent and off-flavor attributes of CCN51. Principal component analysis (PCA) discriminated firstly between fine and bulk, and secondly between EET identity. Partial least squares analysis identified possible correlations between sensory attributes and volatile compounds. Besides, e-nose proved its usefulness for rapid assessment of the liquors’ sensory profile. The results provide a foundation for understanding the genotype’s contribution to and the compositional basis of Ecuadorian fine and bulk cocoa flavor.

Fine flavor cocoa is worldwide renowned to produce origin chocolates with special aromas, e.g. fruity or floral, in addition to its chocolate aroma. This research aims to elucidate fine flavor dynamics during fermentation by analyzing the sugar, free amino acid (FAA) and volatile profile. Ecuadorian Trinitario beans (Sacha Gold) were sampled after 0, 18, 24, 48 and 66 h of spontaneous fermentation. The unfermented beans contained significant sucrose, glutamic acid and asparagine amounts while the fermented beans (66 h) contained more flavor precursors, e.g. glucose, fructose, hydrophobic and other FAA. Forty-one volatiles were identified, including 13 fruity- and 12 floral-like, derived from various metabolic pathways. Whereas the level of fatty acid-derived fruity volatiles decreased, the amount of amino acid-derived fruity and floral volatiles increased and floral terpenes remained stable. Some fine volatiles were assumed to be pulp-derived (e.g. linalool, β-myrcene, 2-heptyl acetate) or intrinsic to the bean (e.g. 2-heptanol, 2-heptanone, 2-pentanol), while others were generated during fermentation by microbial synthesis (e.g. 2-phenylethanol, isoamyl alcohol). Multivariate analysis clustered samples according to fermentation time and quality. These findings demonstrate that cocoa fermentation is essential for the formation of flavor precursors and the development or preservation of important fine aroma compounds. Trinitario (or hybrids), one of the cocoa varieties with fine flavor potential, is cultivated all over the world and hence, care should be taken during post-harvest to fully exploit this fine flavor character and deliver high-quality cocoa beans with fine sensory characteristics.

The use of alternative equipment for chocolate production is gaining attention in recent times in many countries. This is due to the lower cost of investment and maintenance, multi-functionality, and lower throughput. This study was conducted to investigate the applicability of two of such equipment; melanger and Stephan mixer. In the first set-up, the possibility of refining chocolate with the melanger in comparison with the conventional 3-roll refiner was explored. Whereas in the second set-up, the applicability of the Stephan mixer (aided with a vacuum pump) for a conching-like application was also investigated. From each set-up, 70% dark chocolates produced through various alternative means were then evaluated on the basis of their flavor profiles. Specific groups of volatiles such as aldehydes, ketones, terpenes and terpenoids, showed significant (p 0.05) preference for these representative chocolates from the clusters. These findings stimulate various practical application possibilities for tuning chocolate flavor through alternative processing for both industries and various artisans worldwide.

With the rising interest by consumers for high-quality cocoa products from a clear geographical origin, a rapid analytical method for quality control, authenticity and traceability assessment is of paramount importance. However, the complex mixture of volatiles present in cocoa liquor, the main ingredient for the chocolate production, complicates reaching this purpose. Hence, an analytical fingerprint approach using advanced electronic nose (E-nose) technology may offer a suitable technique. This study aimed to verify the suitability of an E-nose based on ultra-fast gas chromatography (GC) for the rapid discrimination between cocoa liquors from different origins. Fourteen cocoa liquors, produced of cocoa beans from ten different geographical origins, were analyzed. The obtained odor fingerprints were investigated using principal component analysis (PCA) which successfully discriminated most cocoa liquors, within one continent, according to their geographical origin. Besides, discriminant factor analysis (DFA) showed the possibility to differentiate between bulk and fine cocoa. Further tentative identification of predominant volatile compounds allowed the detection of compounds within a wide range of chemical classes occurring in cocoa products, such as acids, alcohols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, pyrazines, pyrones, and pyrroles. Most odorant compounds were previously described in literature as key volatiles in cocoa flavor, notable examples are acetic acid, 2-heptanol, 2/3-methylbutanal, acetophenone, isoamyl acetate, tetramethylpyrazine, maltol, and 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline. This study proves for the first time the usefulness of the GC E-nose for effective and rapid aroma profiling and discrimination between single origin cocoa liquors, which can be easily applied in the cocoa industry.