Flavoromics approach to describe the sensory properties of a cup of coffee

Flavoromics is an “-omic” and “-holistic” approach focused on low molecular mass compounds (volatile and non-volatile) and linking them to a defined sensorial perception, thanks to advanced chemometric techniques1-3. Flavor perception is the result of the interaction between different and complex chemical stimuli (ortho retro-nasal, taste, texture, etc.) and the (bio)chemical and physiological responses. Chemical information from coffee samples was obtained by analyzing both volatile and non-volatile profiles, followed by processing of the resulting chromatograms to reduce the number of variables with statistical tools. Multiple Factorial Analysis was used to study the relationship between the observations, (volatiles, non-volatiles, and sensory scores) and Partial Least Squares Regression analysis to correlate chemical data with well-defined flavor notes in a cup of coffee determined by monadic sensory analysis. Some variables were selected as diagnostic markers, because of their high impact on the statistical models developed. Bitter flavor markers different from caffeine were highlighted as well. The sensory contributions of these markers has been then determined by targeted analysis. 1. J. Charve, Chi Chen, A. D. Hegemanb and G. Reineccius. Flavour Fragr. J. 2011, 26, 429–440 2. I. Andujar-Ortiz, T. L. Peppard, G. Reineccius. In: The Chemical Sensory Informatics of Food: Measurement, Analysis, Integration. Chapter 21, pp 293–312. 3. I. Ronningen. PhD dissertation, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/11299/180222