Artificial intelligence system analyzes coffee quality in minutes

In the coming years, the Brazilian coffee chain should incorporate an intelligent and unprecedented system to speed up and improve the beverage certification process. The new technology uses advanced computing techniques to automatically analyze and classify the overall quality of coffee in minutes. The analysis is carried out without the need to prepare the drink, as the technology examines images of the powder. Today, the most reliable quality assessment is sensory analysis in which human tasters taste the drink.

Named CoffeeClass, the technology was developed by researchers from Embrapa Instrumentation (SP) and uses computer vision and artificial intelligence (AI) to assess the overall quality directly in roasted and ground coffee. The development and application of the system can contribute to the implementation of public policies and standards created for the sector, in addition to bringing consumers closer to quality certification systems. Coffee drives one of the main Brazilian agribusiness chains, which generates revenue of around US$5 billion annually for the country.

The technological solution interprets patterns in enlarged images of roasted and ground coffee and correlates them with the overall quality identified in the drink. To do this, it uses reflectance and fluorescence imaging techniques, which use different lights under the sample of roasted and ground coffee to highlight compounds linked to the quality of the drink.

In the future, consumers will use technology in the supermarket

The artificial intelligence built into the system learns to “look” at the sample, extract patterns and predict the overall quality class of the coffee being analyzed. AI is an area of ​​research that brings together several disciplines and seeks to develop computational methods capable of imitating human cognitive abilities, such as learning, logic and process optimization.

For now, the smart tool is a prototype, but it already has high potential to spark innovation in the coffee value chain. It is believed that, in the future, the system could be used by producers in the field and even by consumers in supermarkets.

CoffeeClass will be presented at International Coffee Week, from November 7th to 9th, during which Embrapa Instrumentação will sign a technical cooperation contract with the Brazilian Coffee Industry Association (ABC), aiming to improve system functionality and performance. The signing will take place on the 8th, at the Expominas fair center, in Belo Horizonte (MG), the event's headquarters.

Smart computing to understand coffee

The research with CoffeeClass began in 2013 and was developed by Embrapa analyst Ednaldo José Ferreira. The work was carried out within the scope of the Café Research Consortium, created in 1997 and which involves around 50 teaching, research and rural extension institutions, under the coordination of Embrapa Coffee. Ferreira says that the research arose from a need in the chain that required an automated tool for analyzing coffee.

The proposal was to generate an automated tool to assist the work of coffee tasters - specialists in sensory analysis - and, thus, consolidate a technology specifically aimed at certification based on the Global Quality (QG) of ABIC's Coffee Quality Program (PQC). . The proof of concept and prototype were initially based on the classification of this program, but, according to Ferreira, the technology can be adapted to other coffee quality indicators.

QG is the joint perception of characteristics, such as aroma, flavor, body, acidity, astringency, bitterness, fragrance and others that contribute to the composition of an overall note within a sensory scale – 0 to 10 for the ABIC PQC – used as an indicator of product quality. It is carried out by a team of trained specialists who use the standardized preparation of a coffee drink as the basis of the analysis protocol, a process popularly known as “cup testing”.

The PQC, launched in 2004, uses this QG score to certify the product in three categories: “Gourmet”, for very high quality coffees; “Superior”, for coffees of relatively high quality and “Traditional/Extra strong”, for coffees of recommendable quality and affordable cost.

An easy-to-use technology

Doctor in Computer Science and Computational Mathematics, Ferreira explains that several tools were tested before arriving at CoffeeClass. “The focus of the research has always been to generate a simple and low-cost apparatus, which could be operated without difficulties, with minimal commands, by all actors in the coffee chain, on the farm itself, before leaving the field, in laboratories, cooperatives , roasters, supermarkets, cafes, among others”, he says.

Ferreira turned to Data Science to carry out the pilot study with 120 samples of roasted and ground coffee, from various regions of the country, already certified by the PQC, which enabled the generation of a bank with more than 2.400 digital images. “We identified the potential and designed a module called smart core (intelligent core) based on a set of Artificial Intelligence methods and techniques that aim to automatically improve analysis performance”, he explains.

In laboratory tests, the technology identified the Gourmet, Superior, Traditional and non-recommended coffee categories with a percentage slightly above 75% correct for blind samples.

The study involved low-cost commercial digital microscopes, which use different LEDs (light-emitting diode) as a source of illumination for the approximately one-gram sample, in addition to a sample holder and software developed by Embrapa Instrumentação. .

Ferreira explains that the interaction of different lights with the coffee sample produces patterns in images magnified by digital microscopes, which allow the coffee to be characterized. Lights at different wavelengths make it possible to detect the composition of the coffee, as well as mixtures with low quality beans (defects and others), which interfere with the overall quality.

“The color variations observed in enlarged digital images, acquired directly from a sample of roasted and ground coffee, reveal characteristics closely linked to the overall quality of the product”, he explains.

The tool demonstrated the potential for significant success in laboratory analyses, however, the project leader believes that it is possible to advance further and develop other indicators to improve CoffeeClass.

“The challenge now is to understand the characteristics revealed by the intelligent system and expand the horizon of application of the technology”, says Ferreira. To carry out this new stage of research, he says he prepared and submitted a new project to the Consórcio Pesquisa Café program, with which he intends to evolve the study.

In the next phase, the work will bring together diverse expertise from universities, research institutes, government bodies, such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Map) and its official laboratories (Lanagros), in addition to other entities with a history of recognized excellence in the coffee chain.

“Aiming to automate and modernize these analyses, Embrapa Instrumentação, with the support of the Consortium Research Café and the partnership with ABIC, will finalize and launch this technology, the first of its kind in the world. CoffeeClass will undoubtedly revolutionize the quality classification of Brazilian Coffees, so that we can increasingly consolidate and conquer new markets”, says the head of Technology Transfer at Embrapa Café, Lucas Tadeu Ferreira.

Sector empowerment

For Karla Barros, a 24-year-old barista who turned her hobby into a profession, the new technology brings an excellent opportunity for empowerment for the coffee sector. “I think it is a tool to be used even by farmers to improve production in the field”, says the coffee expert.

Civil engineering, graduated at the end of 2017 from the University of São Paulo (USP, the barista says she is happy with her new profession, started a year ago, in a bistro café in São Carlos (SP), after taking courses in coffee laboratories, in São Paulo, the capital.

“We are theoretically and technically qualified to be a barista, which is a professional specialized in preparing high-quality coffee. So, it’s good to know that there is technology capable of analyzing the quality of the drink we prepare, from the simplest to the most elaborate, safely and quickly,” he comments.

Cooperation to increase technology maturity

Increasing the level of technological maturity of CoffeeClass, aiming to bring this niche market closer, is on the radar of the partnership with ABIC, which already has PQC certification expertise. The association has already certified more than 700 brands in the country.

Among the actions planned by the cooperation and which should be carried out over the next 18 months are the design and development of a new system for online storage of images and information extracted from PQC quality reports. Furthermore, the Embrapa researcher predicts that the samples to be provided by ABIC will enable the technological evolution of CoffeeClass to better represent the universe of Brazilian coffee quality.

“CoffeeClass is more than just an equipment project. By opening up knowledge of the characteristics of coffees to the consumer, it solves a centuries-old problem of allowing consumers to realize that not all coffees are the same. Their differences, from the raw material to the preparation of the drink, create the personality of each coffee and allow the consumer to identify with their taste and preference”, assesses the executive director of ABIC, Natan Herszkowicz.

According to him, CoffeeClass will play a fundamental role in consumer education. “With it, roasters will be able to define exactly what they will offer, establish and technically prove the differences between their products and those of the competition, increasing transparency, which is so important in the beverage industry”, he says

“I believe that CoffeeClass will positively influence coffee consumption. And it will place Brazil at the forefront of technology applied to drinks”, he concludes.

The size of Brazilian coffee The largest producer and exporter of coffee, and second largest consumer in the world, Brazil sent more than US$2017 billion in beans to other countries in 5. The plant of African origin generates the fifth product on the Brazilian agribusiness export list. According to the National Supply Company (Conab), the estimated harvest for this year is almost 60 million 60 kg bags of processed coffee. The Brazilian product is present in more than 120 countries around the world. Data from the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafe) point out that, in the period from January to September 2018, Cafés do Brasil generated US$3,536 billion in foreign exchange revenue, with 23,644 million 60 kg bags exported. This volume is 7,3% higher than that recorded in the same period in 2017, which was 22,031 million bags. According to information from the Ministry of Agriculture, the coffee sector occupies an area of ​​two million hectares with around 300 thousand producers, in around 1.900 municipalities, distributed in 11 states: Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Espírito Santo, Bahia, Rondônia , Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Pará. The coffee chain is responsible for generating more than eight million jobs in the country.

The size of Brazilian coffee

The largest producer and exporter of coffee, and second largest consumer in the world, Brazil sent more than US$2017 billion in beans to other countries in 5. The plant of African origin generates the fifth product on the Brazilian agribusiness export list. According to the National Supply Company (Conab), the estimated harvest for this year is almost 60 million 60 kg bags of processed coffee. The Brazilian product is present in more than 120 countries around the world.

Data from the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafe) point out that, in the period from January to September 2018, Cafés do Brasil generated US$3,536 billion in foreign exchange revenue, with 23,644 million 60 kg bags exported. This volume is 7,3% higher than that recorded in the same period in 2017, which was 22,031 million bags.

According to information from the Ministry of Agriculture, the coffee sector occupies an area of ​​two million hectares with around 300 thousand producers, in around 1.900 municipalities, distributed in 11 states: Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Espírito Santo, Bahia, Rondônia , Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Goiás, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Pará. The coffee chain is responsible for generating more than eight million jobs in the country.