<![CDATA[The blending of white rice (Oryza sativa) with coffee beans is a well-established, long-standing traditional practice in Lombok capable of modifying flavor characteristics. Despite the widespread belief, the practice has not been extensively explored regarding the combined sensory effects. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of adding white rice during the roasting process of Lombok Robusta coffee beans (Coffea canephora) on brew characteristics. Roasting was carried out with five levels of white rice mixtures, namely 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%, along with a control sample of commercial Lombok coffee. Samples were prepared and analyzed for protein, fat, caffeine, chlorogenic acid, and volatile compounds, while sensory evaluation was conducted using a cupping test method. The results showed that the addition of white rice increased the total carbohydrate content and decreased the levels of protein, fat, caffeine, and chlorogenic acid, alongside a rising proportion of rice. Volatile compounds in Lombok coffee showed an increase in pyrazine, furan, ester, ketone (1-acetylcyclohexene), and ether groups, while there was a decrease in pyrrole, phenol, and ketone (2-acetylfuran) groups. Cupping tests showed an increase in several sensory attributes, including aroma, flavor, aftertaste, texture/viscosity, balance, overall impression, and final score for samples containing rice, but a decrease in salty/sour and bitter/sweet attributes. Among all formulations, sample F2 (75% Robusta and 25% white rice) with the highest score of 72 was categorized as good, while F5 (100% white rice) had the lowest score of 26. These results indicated that the addition of 25% white rice during roasting produced the best sensory characteristics of traditional Lombok coffee.]]>
