Role in the project

Performing Sensory analyses and Analysis of caffeine

Assessment of agronomic performance (mortality, plant growth) grafted coffee and cocoa productivity, and grafted coffee and cocoa plot profitability in Vietnam (UCPH, WASI, CIRAD, Illy, Lavazza, JDE, Nestlé, ECOM)

Sensory quality assessments following protocols for harvest and post-harvest procedures and internationally agreed protocols for cupping. (Roasting, cupping and evaluation).

Collaboration with the experts of the other companies involved in the Project. 3 biological repeats / farm for a total of 210 samples (70 farms).

Based on the influence of agricultural practices on bean composition, additional compositional changes may be observable.

Chemical analyses have been allocated on all the samples as follows: Illy (volatile compounds), Lavazza (caffeine), Jacobs Douwe Egberts-Peet’s (chlorogenic acids), Nestlé (trigonelline).

The CQI protocol will be used as the guidance for sensory assessment.

Two to three cuppers/company Q/R graders will carry out the analysis of one biological repeat, 70 samples studied by 3 companies.

Assessment of environmental performance of grafted crops systems​

Objective : To carry out a modular assessment of the environmental performance of grafted crop systems for the subsample of coffee and cocoa systems, thus taking into account all stages (nursery, immature and mature stages, etc.) based on field surveys, field measurements, and extrapolated data.

Different cropping systems will be analysed to assess the influence on environmental impacts of various practices, e.g., input intensity, irrigation, agroforestry, etc. The sampling of the plots to be evaluated will be based on the knowledge of field partners and will be consistent with the plots analysed in previous work packages (45 grafted coffee trees; 45 ungrafted coffee trees; 30 grafted cocoa trees).

 Approaches : The assessment will be based on two complementary approaches:

 - Life cycle assessment (LCA), which allows for comprehensive assessment of the various impacts of coffee and cocoa bean production (e.g., climate change, acidification, resource depletion) – Cradle to gate analysis (from nursery to fruit harvest ).

- Root biomass estimation that allows for the assessment of changes in soil health through three main soil functions: carbon transformation, nutrient cycling, and structure maintenance.

The following aspects will then be analysed: below/above soil carbon stock, root health, greenhouse gases emissions, fertilizer use, and irrigation.

Partners : CIRAD and the University of Copenhagen, the Western Highlands agriculture & forestry science institute (WASI), with the local trader (Ecom) and with oversight from companies Lavazza Group, Nestle, Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE).

A dialogue platform will be created to enhance discussion and exchanges among project partners, farmers and other stakeholders in the field regarding: System diversity and sampling protocol, LCA constructions and outputs, results on estimation of root biomass and consistency with LCA results, ways to improve crop management to reduce environmental impacts.