Can an Electronic Nose Judge Coffee Aroma Reliably?

A research team in Taiwan combined an artificial intelligence learning algorithm with an electronic nose to distinguish differences in coffee aroma, reaching recognition accuracy of 81% to 98%. The system is meant to help baristas and roasters assess coffee quality when a cold or blocked nose leaves their own senses unreliable, a common problem for people who work from taste and smell.

An electronic nose is not a single instrument but a gas sensor array whose response patterns identify odors, a method already used in food testing. Professor Li Zhonghong of National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology leads the work, and the team is developing an electronic tongue, eye and tactile system in parallel to cover more links of coffee quality control.

For baristas, the senses are tools they rely on to make a living. Once they catch a cold and their nose is blocked, they have no way to judge the quality of that day's output. A research team in Taiwan has combined an artificial intelligence learning algorithm with an electronic nose to develop a system that can distinguish differences in different coffee aromas, with recognition accuracy reaching 81% to 98%. This technology is not only expected to help coffee practitioners control quality when their senses fail, but may also be applied to quality verification in the coffee industry chain. At the same time, the research team is also developing an electronic tongue, electronic eye and tactile system in parallel, attempting to cover every link of coffee quality control from multiple dimensions.

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A while ago, the flu came on fiercely, and quite a few people were infected. Coughing and nasal congestion took turns, and in more serious cases people could not even taste saltiness. Most people endure a few uncomfortable days, take some medicine, rest more, and once their senses recover on their own, it passes. But for baristas who make a living from taste and smell, once their senses go off, they cannot tell whether that day's espresso is excellent or poor. If they serve a drink with flavor problems to a customer, what awaits them may be a bad review.

So baristas usually have no choice but to be extra careful to prevent getting sick, but viruses are everywhere, and there are always times when prevention fails. So if their senses really do have problems, what should they do? An electronic nose developed by researchers in Taiwan may be able to help baristas solve this trouble .

According to Daily Coffee News, Professor Li Zhonghong of the Department of Electrical Engineering at National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology in Taiwan, China, and his team applied an artificial intelligence learning algorithm to a new type of electronic nose.

Some netizens may think that an "electronic nose" is a scientific instrument, but it is not. An electronic nose (E-nose) is an electronic system that uses the response patterns of a gas-to-sensor array to identify odors , and it can be used in food testing. For example, the Siemens eNose refrigerator uses this system to continuously monitor whether food in the refrigerator produces odors. If it detects the smell of spoiled food, it promptly reminds the user.

Therefore, the new electronic nose developed by Professor Li Zhonghong and his team also performs an odor discrimination function. The sensors can detect the gas levels emitted by coffee made from coffee beans of different varieties and origins, and then send the detection results to an artificial intelligence algorithm for processing, thereby identifying the differences between coffees. According to the research team, the coffee recognition accuracy is between 81-98%, depending on the type of coffee.

The report said the research team is having the new electronic nose distinguish more coffees from different origins, varieties and processing methods, so as to develop a coffee aroma database to improve the recognition ability of the artificial intelligence algorithm.

Professor Li Zhonghong believes that, apart from his personal enjoyment of coffee, the electronic nose's greater role is to preserve and understand coffee aroma under changing environmental conditions, which can ensure that the quality and flavor of coffee from different years remain consistent.

The research team said they are currently looking for partners to continue the development of the electronic nose, and the research may ultimately be used for quality control or verification applications in the coffee value chain.

In recent years, electronic noses and electronic tongues have been used as tools in the coffee, beverage and food industries. Recent studies have also used electronic noses and electronic tongues to evaluate differences in Robusta coffee, differences in roasted coffee, and the effects of production methods on the sensory characteristics of cold brew coffee.

In addition, Professor Li Zhonghong said they are also developing an electronic tongue for tasting coffee, an electronic eye for assessing the maturity of coffee cherries, and a tactile system for assessing the moisture content of green coffee.

Image source: Daily Coffee News Staff

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