Characterization of the Therapeutic Properties and Flavor Profile of Coffee via Monoculture Fermentation with Endophytic Microbial Isolates

Coffee bean fermentation improves coffee flavor and intensity variation using naturally endophytes on cherry surfaces to facilitate fermentation. In this study, we isolated four strains from the parchment and endosperm of green coffee beans: three Bacilli (PMT-1, Bacillus cereus; PMT-2, Priestia aryabhattai; EDS-1, Bacillus subtilis) and one yeast (EDS-2, Pichia guilliermondii). We used two commercially available yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisiae BY4741, Saccharomyces boulardii lyo) as control. The fermented coffee beans' anti-inflammatory chlorogenic acid was increased by 38.5 and 51.5% when fermented with PMT-1 and EDS-1, respectively, compared to unfermented beans. Yeast fermentation resulted in lower caffeine levels (similar to 38%) compared to unfermented beans. PMT-1 and EDS-1 fermented coffee obtained the highest sensory analysis score in sweetness, after-taste, and clean-cup. Additionally, we investigated the PMT-1 and PMT-2 whole-genome sequence to identify these health-benefiting genes. This study provides a feasible approach to increasing the health-promoting constituents in coffee via monoculture fermentation.