Physical and Sensory Characteristics of Cascara Water Kefir with the Addition of Butterfly Pea (Clitoria ternatea) Flowers

¹ Agricultural Product Technology, Universitas Syiah Kuala, 23116 Banda Aceh, Indonesia
² Agricultural Faculty, University of Gajah Putih, 24560 Blang Bebangka Aceh Tengah, Indonesia
³ Research Center for Aceh Coffee and Cacao, Universitas Syiah Kuala, 23116 Banda Aceh, Indonesia

^* Corresponding author: murnamuzaifa@usk.ac.id

Abstract

One of the byproducts of coffee processing is the fruit skin, which, after drying, is called cascara. This study aims to study the production of water kefir from cascara with addition of butterfly pea flower extract. The factors studied were the type of cascara (pulp and husk) and the concentration of butterfly pea flower extract added (0; 2 and 4%). The parameters analyzed included physical (color L*, a*, b*) and sensory (hedonic and descriptive) characteristics. The results showed that increasing the concentration of butterfly pea flowers decreased the brightness value L* (34.12–21.45), redness a* (14.46–3.27), and yellowness b* (18.35–6.14). The hedonic test showed that the panelists’ preference level for color ranged from 3.05–3.80 (neutral–like), aroma 2.95–3.60 (slightly dislike–neutral), and taste 2.90–3.70 (slightly dislike–like), with a decrease in scores as the concentration of butterfly pea flowers increased. The best formulation was obtained in the combination of cascara husk with 2% butterfly pea flowers (K2B2), which had a balanced color (L* 28.74; a* 8.92; b* 12.08) and relatively good panelists’ acceptance in the attributes of color (3.80), aroma (3.60), and taste (3.70).