Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 European Food Research and Technology https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-019-03364-3 ORIGINAL PAPER A multipronged favor comparison of Ecuadorian CCN51 and Nacional cocoa cultivars Hayley Rottiers 1,2  · Daylan Amelia Tzompa Sosa 1  · Valérie Lemarcq 1  · Ann De Winne 3  · Jocelyn De Wever 2  · Helena Everaert 1,2  · Julio Andrés Bonilla Jaime 4  · Koen Dewettinck 1  · Kathy Messens 2 Received: 13 June 2019 / Revised: 7 August 2019 / Accepted: 10 August 2019 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2019 Abstract Two cocoa types are predominantly being cultivated in Ecuador, the highly appreciated fne Nacional and the high-yielding and disease-resistant CCN51, classifed 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 favor profle of Nacional hybrids (EET103, EET559, EET576 and EET577) and CCN51, and to assess the efect of the genotype. The fermented dried beans were processed into liquor and their sensory properties, volatile composition and odor fngerprint 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 identifed and semi-quantifed, among them, 16 and 14 volatiles conferring fruity and foral aroma notes, respectively. CCN51 was mainly characterized by undesirable odor-active volatiles, whereas the EET cultivars contained the highest concentration of most fruity and foral volatiles, with diferences in between EET cultivars. Sensory data highlighted organoleptic diferences between the fne and bulk liquors, i.e. the fruity and acid EET favor strongly difered from the bitter, astringent and of-favor attributes of CCN51. Principal component analysis (PCA) discriminated frstly between fne and bulk, and secondly between EET identity. Partial least squares analysis identifed possible correlations between sensory attributes and volatile compounds. Besides, e-nose proved its usefulness for rapid assessment of the liquors’ sensory profle. The results provide a foundation for understanding the genotype’s contribution to and the compositional basis of Ecuadorian fne and bulk cocoa favor. Keywords Cocoa liquor · Fine and bulk · Aroma profle · Sensory evaluation · GC e-nose Abbreviations A.S.S.(P.)S. Arriba Superior Summer (Plantación) Selecto CCAT Centro de Cacao Aroma Tenguel E-nose Electronic nose EET-P Estación Experimental Tropical Pichilingue FI Fermentation index FID Flame ionization detector GC–MS Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry HS Headspace INEN Servicio Ecuatoriano de Normalización ISO International Organization for Standardization KI Kovat indices NTE Norma Técnica Ecuatoriana Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s00217-019-03364-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Hayley Rottiers hayley.rottiers@ugent.be 1 Laboratory of Food Technology and Engineering (FTE), Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium 2 Research Group Molecular Biotechnology (MOBI), Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium 3 Center for Aroma and Flavour Technology, Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems (M²S), Cluster Bioengineering Technology, KU Leuven Technology Campus Ghent, Ghent, Belgium 4 Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Centro de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas del Ecuador (CIBE), Facultad de Ciencias de la Vida, Campus Gustavo Galindo Km. 30.5 Vía Perimetral, P.O. Box 09-01-5863, Guayaquil, Ecuador