Comparación de perfiles físicos y sensoriales entre clones de Theobroma cacao l. bajo tres tiempos de microfermentación.

The present research was carried out on December of 2015, at the Polytechnic Agricultural School of Manabi "Manuel Félix López", in order to determine the physical and sensorial quality of cocoa almonds from clones EET-575, EET-576 and EET- 116. A completely randomized design (DCA) was used in factorial arrangement A (cocoa clones) x B (microfermentation times), with 9 treatments and 3 replicates. The variables were: percentage of fermentation, defective almonds, weight of 100 grains, grain index, percentage of forehead. In addition, the sensory profiles of specific flavors were determined: floral, fruit, nut, cocoa, caramel; and basic tastes of bitterness, acidity, astringency. The results indicate that the percentage of fermentation and defective almonds were influenced by the genotype and the microfermentation times where the clones type National EET-575 and EET-576 showed the best results, in contrast to the EET-116 that presented a lower value of fermentation and more defective almonds. In contrast, the sensory characteristics of the grain were not significantly influenced by the genotype or microfermentation times. Finally, it is established that with six days of microfermentation in Rohan boxes, better fermentation rates and physical quality of the grain were reached.