Abstract.
Aluminium, Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Pb, S, Se, Si, Sn, Sr, and Zn
were determined in coffee and sugar-cane spirit (cachaça) samples
by axial viewing inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry
(ICP OES). Pattern recognition techniques such as principal component analysis
and cluster analysis were applied to data sets in order to characterize
samples with relation to their geographical origin and production mode
(industrial or homemade and organically or conventionally produced). Attempts
to correlate metal ion content with the geographical origin of coffee and
the production mode (organic or conventional) of cachaça were not
successful. Some differentiation was suggested for the geographical origin
of cachaça of three regions (Northeast, Central, and South), and
for coffee samples, related to the production mode. Clear separations were
only obtained for differentiation between industrial and homemade cachaças,
and between instant soluble and roasted coffees.
Keywords.
Coffee; Sugar-cane Spirit; Chemometrics; Pattern Recognition.
Keywords Plus.