<p>Detections of elements and molecules in coffee beans were carried out using single ICP-MS/MS coupled with a laser ablation sampling technique. For elemental analysis, laser-induced sample particles were introduced into the ICP, where the elements were ionized as M⁺ through the hard ionisation achieved in the high-temperature and atmospheric-pressure plasma (ICP). For molecular analysis, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which were released from the solid material through laser-induced sample heating were introduced into collision/reaction cell (CRC), instead of the ICP ion source. The VOCs were ionised through ion reaction with ⁴⁰Ar⁺. After a 1-s laser ablation, isotopic signals of ²⁴Mg, ⁴³Ca, and ⁵⁹Co were observed at around 4&#xa0;s, followed by protonated or molecular ions corresponding to butene, propanal, furan, butanone, pyridine, and methylfuran. In this study, the ionisation features of the VOCs released from milled coffee beans was investigated. The resulting VOCs were ionized either through ion reaction with ⁴⁰Ar⁺ or cationisation with three ions (⁷Li⁺, ²³Na⁺, and ¹⁰⁷Ag⁺). Among two ionisation approaches, cationisation with ¹⁰⁷Ag⁺ proved to be the most effective, yielding both the lowest fragmentation and the highest production efficiencies of cation adducts. These results clearly demonstrate that LA-ICP-MS/MS is now a rapid and versatile technique for detecting both elements and molecules in solid materials.</p> Graphical abstract <p></p>