The potential of NIR reflectance spectroscopy for discriminating between pure Arabica and pure Robusta coffees and blends of these two was investigated. Studies were performed on whole and ground beans using a factorial discriminant procedure. For whole beans, in the absence of blended samples, a correct classification rate of 96.2% was achieved. Inclusion of blended samples reduced this figure to between 82.9 and 87.6%. In the case of ground samples, including blends, a correct identification rate of 83.02% was achieved. The molecular basis for discrimination is discussed.
