Fig. 3 shows the multivariate relationships among the ground
coffee samples, where 88% of the data variations were explained by
the first two PCs (64% and 24%, respectively). Going from left to
right on PC1, light roasted ground coffee were nutty, cocoa, and
sweet aromatics then increasingly became more burnt/acrid, ashy/
sooty, sour aromatics, and pungent as the roasting level became
darker. Coffee and roasted attributes were most intense in the dark
roasted El Salvador Bourbon and the medium roasted Hawaii Kona
and Ethiopia Kedado. Dark roasted Ethiopia Kebado was also the
perceived to be distinctively musty/earthy.
It was observed here that the dark roasted ground Hawaii Kona,
along with the medium roasted ground Ethiopia Kebado and El
Salvardor Bourbon were located in the middle of the sensory space,
most likely due to the complex aroma profiles each acquired.