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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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• In-depth study of the composition of a bulk and a fine-flavor cocoa liquor and chocolate. • Investigation of volatile (HS-SPME GC–MS) and non-volatile metabolites (UPLC-HRMS). • A wide range of non-volatile compounds, both polyphenols and non-phenolic compounds, could be identified and quantified. • Principal component analysis revealed the main distinctive (non-)volatile constituents. • The suggested approach results in a thorough comparison of cocoa samples. Cocoa products are obtained from the seeds of Theobroma cacao L. In this research, cocoa liquor and chocolate produced from cocoa beans from West Africa (Forastero, "bulk" cacao) and Ecuador (Nacional variety, "fine-flavor" cacao), were investigated, using a novel approach in which various analytical techniques are combined in order to obtain in-depth knowledge of the studied cocoa samples. The levels of various classes of primary metabolites were determined and a wide range of secondary metabolites, including volatile organic acids, aldehydes, esters, pyrazines, polyphenols, methylxanthines and biogenic amines, were identified and/or quantified by HS-SPME GC–MS (headspace-solid phase microextraction gas chromatography - mass spectrometry). and UPLC-HRMS (ultra-performance liquid chromatography - high resolution mass spectrometry). Odor Activity Values (OAV) were calculated to assess the contribution of individual volatiles on the final aroma. Various volatile aroma compounds were more abundant in the West African cocoa liquor and chocolate, while the Ecuadorian samples were richer in most quantified non-volatile metabolites. Principal component analysis (PCA) confirmed that the four samples can be clearly distinguished. Alcohols, pyrazines, amino acids and biogenic amines were found to be highly influential in causing this differentiation. The proposed approach can be useful in future studies on more extensive cocoa sample collections, in order to highlight similarities and pinpoint typical differences in chemical composition among these samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]