Effects of Roasting Level and Milk Addition on In Vivo Aroma Release and Perception of Coffee

Cleve N, Gonzalez-Estanol K, Khomenko I, Pedrotti M, Cappellin L, Biasioli F, Beauchamp J (2025)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry American Chemical Society

DOI: 10.1021/acs.jafc.4c12852

Abstract

Adding milk to coffee balances its flavor and reduces unpalatable notes (e.g., burnt aroma, bitterness), but research on how adding milk affects in vivo aroma release and perception is limited. This study analyzed the impact of adding cow or oat milk (30% w/w) on in vivo aroma release and flavor perception in medium and dark roasted Arabica coffees. Temporal dominance of sensations showed that medium roast had bitter and roasted flavors, while bitter and burnt flavors dominated the dark roast. The milks elicited their own inherent notes (dairy-like or caramel-like/vanilla-like) and decreased the perception of coffee-related flavors. Aroma release analysis by proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry provided data on 47 volatiles, with quantitative differences between roasting levels being indicative of the changes in perception. While milk addition strongly affected perception, it did not systematically affect in vivo release of coffee-related volatiles, highlighting the challenges in aligning analytical and sensory data sets.

Involved external institutions

Fondazione Edmund Mach di San Michele all'Adige IT Italy (IT) University of Padua / Universita degli Studi di Padova IT Italy (IT) Fraunhofer-Institut für Verfahrenstechnik und Verpackung (IVV) DE Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Cleve, N., Gonzalez-Estanol, K., Khomenko, I., Pedrotti, M., Cappellin, L., Biasioli, F., & Beauchamp, J. (2025). Effects of Roasting Level and Milk Addition on In Vivo Aroma Release and Perception of Coffee. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jafc.4c12852

MLA:

Cleve, Nina, et al. "Effects of Roasting Level and Milk Addition on In Vivo Aroma Release and Perception of Coffee." Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (2025).

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