Spray-Freeze-Drying approach for soluble coffee processing and its effect on quality characteristics.

The suitability of Spray-Freeze-Drying (SFD) technique for soluble coffee processing was evaluated. The
resultant product characteristics were compared against its spray-dried (SD) and freeze-dried (FD) counterparts.
SFD and FD coffee powders exhibited a comparable aroma profile as indicated by the electronic
nose analysis. SFD resulted in higher volatile retention (93%) than FD (77%) and SD (57%), as inferred from
GC–MS analysis. SFD coffee showed instantaneous solubility due to its highly porous nature as observed
in morphology studies. SFD coffee depicted monomodal particle size distribution with mean diameter
(91.1 lm) ranging between SD (50.41 lm) and FD (636.8 lm) particles. SFD resulted in higher free (qB,
0.612 g/mL) and tapped (qT, 0.679 g/mL) bulk densities of the product against SD (qB: 0.328 g/mL; qT:
0.388 g/mL) and FD (qB: 0.345 g/mL; qT: 0.361 g/mL). SFD coffee exhibited free flowing characteristics
as indicated by its Hausner ratio (1.11) and Carr index (10%).