Exploring the feasibility of shortened extraction times for HS-SPME: A study with coffee samples

• Published in: Journal of food composition and analysis Vol. 144; p. 107522
• Main Authors: Feng, Huaming, Song, Jiahui, Zhong, Fang, Xia, Yixun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.08.2025
• Subjects: Coffee; Extraction time; flavor; headspace analysis; HS-SPME; milk fat; odors; Sensory; skim milk; solid phase microextraction; Volatile compounds; Volatile compounds; HS-SPME; Extraction time; Coffee; Sensory
• ISSN: 0889-1575
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfca.2025.107522

Headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) is widely employed in flavor research to extract volatile compounds from food products. This study investigates the potential of a short-term (2 min) extraction duration as a substitute for the conventional long-term (45 min) method in analyzing coffee flavors. It specifically selected black coffee, with a simple and direct aroma release process, and milk coffee, with more complex volatile compound release processes due to varying levels of milk fat or non-fat milk solids, as experimental subjects. By evaluating types, concentrations, and contributions of volatile components extracted at different times, it was observed that the short-term extraction, despite yielding lower overall concentrations, provided comparable results to long-term extraction in various aspects and effectively distinguished samples. In analyzing sensory data alongside chemical profiles, the study found that short-term extraction exhibited a high similarity to sensory results in simpler systems like black coffee (measured by the regression vector (RV) coefficient, 0.767), comparable to long-term extraction (RV 0.757). However, in more complex aroma matrices such as milk coffee, short-term extraction showed significantly lower sample space similarity compared to long-term extraction (0.374 vs. 0.431). These findings establish a critical theoretical basis for utilizing machine predictions of consumer perceptions in coffee flavor evaluation. •Short- and long-term HS-SPME extractions both can identify key compounds.•Both methods are applicable to black coffee.•Long extraction time exhibits higher sensitivity in milk coffee.