AN INDEX TO EVALUATE THE ACCEPTANCE OF SPECIALTY COFFEES IN CONSUMER GROUPS

ABSTRACT Numerous factors are related to the individual sensory perception of consumers, which makes it impossible to adapt a model that explains their behavior. In this context and given the scarcity of statistical indexes that evaluate preferences for specialty coffees, new statistical methods should be studied. To this end, our study aimed to create an index that measures the acceptance of specialty coffees. The index was built considering the fit of regression models as a function of principal component scores. Validation was done by significance tests, whose probabilities were obtained by bootstrapping, considering the main measures used in diagnosing outliers as weights, with application to real data from different consumer groups. The coffee varieties Acaia and Bourbon were discriminated in relation to altitude. In conclusion, the index was adequate for the analysis and characterization of specialty coffees grown at different altitudes.

摘要：消费者个体感官感知受诸多因素影响，这使得无法构建能够解释其消费行为的统一模型。在此背景下，鉴于当前用于评估精品咖啡（specialty coffees）偏好的统计指标较为匮乏，亟需研究新的统计方法。为此，本研究旨在构建一款可量化精品咖啡接受度的指标。该指标以主成分得分（principal component scores）为核心变量，基于回归模型（regression models）的拟合效果构建而成。验证环节采用显著性检验（significance tests）完成，检验的概率值通过自助法（Bootstrap）计算得到，同时将离群点（outliers）诊断中常用的主要指标作为权重，并将该方法应用于不同消费群体的真实数据集。本研究基于种植海拔对Acaia与Bourbon两款咖啡品种实现了有效区分。综上，该指标可适用于不同海拔种植的精品咖啡的分析与特征表征。