###### Abstract  
Although from a food safety point, coffee is considered a shelf-stable product, changes in volatiles over time due to out-gassing and chemical reactions lead to perceivable differences in coffee aroma and \"freshness\". Previous studies have looked at the impact of storage conditions on ground or brewed coffee. This study seeks to answer the question of how coffee consumers perceive the smell of coffee grounds of whole beans that have been stored under different conditions: freezer vs. room temperature for 9 weeks compared to a newly roasted control (stored for 1 day). Green beans from the same production lot were roasted to two different levels to also evaluate the impact of roast level on aroma changes. Using projective mapping (PM) followed by ultra-flash profiling (UFP), 48 coffee consumers evaluated, using only smell, 6 different freshly ground coffee samples presented in blind duplicates. In parallel, the profiles of 48 previously reported important coffee volatiles were measured by headspace-solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) to relate chemical changes to perceivable sensory aroma changes. Overall, consumer product maps mimicked the instrumental measurements in that the lighter roast coffees showed smaller changes due to storage conditions compared to the dark roast samples. Consumers also perceived the frozen dark roast samples to be more similar to the newly roasted control than the samples stored at room temperature. c 2018/09/2018/00/00000-0000-0000-0000-0000-0000-0000-0000-0000-0000-0000-0000-00000-0000-00000-00000-00000-00000-00000-00000-00000-00000-00000  
creates a unique challenge for specialty coffee producers and consumers who view the freshness of coffee as an indicator of quality [6]. There is a large body of research on coffee aroma. Several studies have been conducted to narrow down the over 700 different volatiles identified in roasted and brewed coffee into a shorter list of key odorants [2; 7]. It has also been demonstrated that gas diffusion out of roasted coffee beans leads to an overall decrease in the level of specific volatile compounds that are correlated with \"fresh\" smelling coffee [6; 8; 9], and that this loss of volatiles is correlated with a decrease in consumer liking [4]. Anecdotally, to combat the loss of aroma that occurs during prolonged storage due to out-gassing and chemical reactions, such as oxidation [6; 9; 10], some consumers have adopted the practice of storing their coffee beans in the freezer. In theory, this practice should slow down any staling reactions or loss of volatiles and, therefore, preserve the aroma of the beans when compared to room temperature storage. Several studies have investigated this practice using brewed coffee [3] and ground coffee pads [5] as models, and have shown that low-temperature storage does preserve the headspace concentration of some volatile compounds when compared to room temperature storage. Despite this previous work, only a few studies used roasted, whole bean coffee as a model [11]. Investigating this practice using freshly ground whole beans could provide more applicable information for producers and consumers of specialty coffees, as well as cafes that often buy whole bean coffee in bulk for service. Further, using coffee consumers instead of relying on instrumental measurements or trained panels provides further ecological validity and uncovers how the reported changes in coffee aroma composition and/or sensory attributes affect consumer perception of coffee freshness and acceptability. Projective mapping (PM) is a holistic sensory technique that is often employed to detect degrees of difference and similarity between products [12]. Trained or untrained participants evaluate a product set either overall or for a specific sensory attribute (taste, aroma, texture, etc.) and arrange the samples on a two-dimensional map in a manner that places similar samples in close proximity to one another, while dissimilar samples are placed further away [13].