Food Science Studies on Beverage Flavors

Japan has a wide variety of commercial beverage products compared to the rest of the world. Tea (green, black, oolong, etc.), coffee, and fruit juice (especially citrus) beverages are the main product groups. For beverages providing a mellow and attractive flavor, aroma is one of the most important factors affecting quality and thereby product value. Generating a product with high quality aroma and good palatability poses significant challenges during product quality improvement. Therefore, to create attractive beverage products, fundamental knowledge of the key aroma constituents (potent and off-flavor odorants), as well as their chemical and sensory behaviors, in beverages has been strongly needed. In this article, our research about potent and off-flavor odorants and their characteristics in teas (Sen-cha, pan-fired green tea, and Ceylon black tea), coffee, and citrus fruit juices, based on the Aroma Extract Dilution Analysis (AEDA) technique, is described.