Effect of sugars on liquid-vapour partition of volatile compounds in ready-to-drink coffee beverages

The effect of sugars (sucrose, lactose, glucose, fructose, 10%w/v) on the liquid–vapour partition of selected volatile compounds of coffee beverages has been investigated in espresso coffee and ready‐to‐drink (RTD) canned coffee prepared and obtained by using the same Arabica roasted coffee beans blend. Aroma composition of coffee beverages has been preliminary investigated by headspace‐gas chromatography (HS‐GC) and solid phase microextraction‐HS‐GC‐mass spectrometry to characterize the volatile pattern of the systems and to evaluate the effects of sugars on the aroma release/retention. Then, the liquid–vapour partition coefficient (k) of 4 selected key aroma compounds (diacetyl, 2,3‐pentanedione, ethylpyrazine, hexanal) was determined in water, sugars solutions as well as RTD coffee brews added with the same sugars (10%w/v). Sugars added in coffee beverages affected the release of the volatiles and thus its aroma profile with differences due to the type of added sugar and coffee brew type. The k values of the selected volatile compounds resulted different depending on the model system composition (water, coffee brew) and sugar type added. In particular, melanoidins as well as other non‐volatile components (lipids, acids, carbohydrates) in the RTD coffee brews could be implied in the change of k of the volatile compounds in respect to that observed in water. The effects of the sugar type on the release/retention of the four key coffee aroma compounds were partly explained in terms of ‘salting out’ especially for the more polar volatile compounds and in the sucrose‐added model systems. The change of chemical and physico‐chemical properties of the water and brews induced by the sugars as well as the occurrence of interactions between volatile compounds and non‐volatile components may be implied in the reduction of the vapour partition of the aroma compounds. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.