Aroma Profiling of Chilled Ready-to-Drink Coffees

The global market for chilled ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee continues to grow rapidly, driven by consumer demand for convenient, high-quality beverages. However, analyzing the aroma profiles of these products at low serving temperatures remains a challenge due to the reduced volatility of key odor-active compounds. This study demonstrates the use of dynamic headspace (DHS) sampling with thermal desorption and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) to characterize aroma profiles in both chilled black and milk-based RTD coffees. DHS enables solvent-free extraction under controlled low-temperature conditions, with automated agitation to address matrix variability and replicate real-world consumption. A total of 125 aroma compounds were identified across six commercial samples, with compositional differences observed based on product type, flavoring, and brand. The method effectively detected flavor-specific markers and unexpected contaminants, highlighting its sensitivity and suitability for quality control, product development, and sensory evaluation support in the RTD beverage sector.