Background – Coffee is a very popular beverage and it contains several bioactive compounds. Antioxidant activities have been reported in coffee, however, little is known on the level of phenolics and the antioxidant capacity in commercial coffee drinks.
Objective – To determine the phenolics content of six commercial coffee drinks (espresso, long black, filtered, flat white, latte and cappuccino) from 4 different coffee retailers, and to investigate their antioxidant activities.
Design – Six commercial coffee drinks were purchased from 4 different retailers on 3 different days. Total phenolics concentration (TPC) was determined using the Folin–Ciocalteu method. Antioxidant activities of the coffees were
.- estimatedusingtheDPPHandthesuperoxideanion(O2 )scavengingactivity(SASA)methods.
Outcomes – Black coffee (espresso, long black, and filtered) was higher (P < 0.001) in TPC /g freeze-dried extract compared with white coffee (flat white, latte and cappuccino). Based on the serve of coffee, TPC (GAE/ cup) from different retailers was not different (P > 0.05), whereas white coffee had higher (P < 0.001) TPC GAE/ cup compared with black coffee. The overall %SASA per serve is higher (P < 0.001) in white coffee than in black coffee. A similar trend was seen using DPPH assay. Significant correlations were found between TPC; SASA and DPPH.
Conclusions – The data show that coffee is a good source for antioxidants, but variation between retailers and within retailers can affect the daily intake of phenolics from coffee.