Main Advances in Post-Harvest Technologies for Coffee that Contribute to the Improvement of Grain/Seed Quality and Beverage

This document was presented in a Ph.D. qualifying examination; we discussed how to produce specialty coffee.  The quality of coffee beverages is influenced by numerous factors related to seed formation and post-harvest practices. The utmost quality of each bean is typically achieved when the fruit reaches the stage of physiological maturity of the seed. In the coffee fruit, this stage coincides with the red coloration of the exocarp, which characterizes the "Cherry II" ripening stage. Considering a group of beans, the beverage quality can be enhanced during post-harvest by eliminating defective beans and preserving the quality of regular beans. In this context, separating defective beans is easy, but the main challenge lies in maintaining the quality of regular beans until consumption, particularly during the drying process. Drying theoretically seems easy, but in practice, the large volumes to be dried within a short period make the operation challenging, especially in regions with high humidity during harvesting. For this reason, we addressed critical points in coffee post-harvest practices that represent advancements in improving the quality of grains/seeds and beverage.