# Volatile, Microbial, and Sensory Profiles and Consumer Acceptance of Coffee Cascara Kombuchas
## 3 Results and Discussion
### Microbial Taxonomy
They are of great importance; while some of these organisms are involved in food spoilage, others are food-borne pathogens, and some are indicators of fecal contamination of food products [55]. Because near-boiling water is used for infusion preparation, we can consider that the beverages were microbiologically safe in relation to Enterobacteria contamination. In the study by [PERSON] et al. [2], the infusion of contaminated coffee cascara tea presented zero count of viable thermo-tolerant microorganisms. These bacteria are heat sensitive and are not viable at temperatures above 45 \({}^{\circ}\)C. An additional Enterobacteriaceaeae strain identified in the starter and in CCB K was _Pantoea septica_[56]. The _Pantoea_ spp. genus was previously identified in grape cultivar for wine production and was positively correlated with straight-chain fatty alcohols, aromatic aldehydes, and terpen in wine [49]. Figure 1: Bacterial composition of the solid and liquid phases of black tea and coffee cascara tea kombuchas’ consortia after 14 days (starter) and 9 days of fermentation, respectively. Note: BT K—black tea kombucha; CCB K—coffee cascara kombucha from Brazil; CCN K—coffee cascara kombucha from Nicaragua. Low percentages of _Latilactobacillus_ and _Pediococcus_ (0.08-0.9%), Enterobacteriaceaeaee (0.06-0.6%), and _Staphylococcus_ (1.3%) were observed in CC Ks. Two lactic acid bacteria were identified in BT K and CCB K, _Latilactobacillus sakei_ and _Pediococcus pentosaceus_. In a model kimchi, _L. sakei_ produced volatile compounds such as hexanal, acetic acid, and geranyl acetone [57]. _Pediococcus pentosaceus_ has been used to ferment tilapia surimi, and some of the main volatile compounds were the aldehydes hexanal, nonanal, heptanal, octanal, decanal, undecanal, and benzaldehyde [58]. _Staphylococcus carnosus_ and _Staphylococcus xylosus_ were identified in BT K and CCKs. They are coagulase-negative _Staphylococcus_ spp. strains commonly found in diversified fermented food products as an integral part of the natural flora and are often recognized as non-infective microbiota. They can also attribute acidic and buttery tastes to fermented meats [59]. Regarding yeasts, their metabolism is not only responsible for the production of ethanol but also for the formation of several hundreds of flavor-active compounds, imparting their characteristic aroma and flavor to fermented beverages. The production and concentration of metabolites, desirable or not (off-flavors), formed during fermentation depends on the contribution of particular yeast species or strains. Thus, yeast communities have great potential to shape the aroma and flavor of fermented beverages [60]. ITS1 analysis indicated that the most abundant phyla were Ascomycata (Figure 2). _Pichia_ was the predominant yeast genera with an abundance higher than 70%, followed by _Saccharomyces_ (>2%). The _Brettanomyces bruxellensis_ strain (5%) was present in all kombuchas. Other non-saccharomyces strains comprised 0.4% of total yeasts. They were present in all fermented beverages. Figure 2: Yeast composition of the solid and liquid phases of the black tea and coffee cascara kombuchas’ consortia after 14 days (starter) and 9 days of fermentation, respectively. Note: BT K—black tea kombucha; CCB K—Brazil coffee cascara kombucha; CCN K—Nicaragua coffee cascara kombucha. _Pichia_ sp. is one of the main yeast genera found in kombuchas [43; 45; 51]. _Pichia_ species are generally applied in wine making to improve aroma composition [61]. The main _Pichia_ strains identified in BT and CC kombuchas were _Pichia fermentatus_ and _Pichia kuyveri_. Although in this study _Brettanomyces bruxellensis_ was not as abundant as Pichia sp., it is the most common yeast identified in kombucha tea and SCOBY [24; 47; 62]. Brettanomyces yeasts can strongly affect the aroma of fermentation products.