Aroma Profiling of Chilled Ready-to-Drink Coffees

This technical report presents a study on the aroma profiling of chilled ready-to-drink (RTD) coffees using dynamic headspace sampling combined with thermal desorption and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS). The objective is to characterize the aroma profiles of both chilled black and milk-based RTD coffees, addressing challenges associated with analyzing aroma at low serving temperatures. The study identifies 125 aroma compounds across six commercial samples, revealing compositional differences influenced by product type, flavoring, and brand. The dynamic headspace method enhances detection sensitivity, effectively capturing key odor-active compounds and unexpected contaminants. The report outlines the experimental setup, including sample preparation and analysis conditions, and discusses the implications of the findings for quality control and sensory evaluation in the RTD beverage sector. The results indicate the method's suitability for analyzing volatiles in chilled products, contributing valuable insights into consumer sensory experiences.