MILAN – Using endophytic fungi in coffee fermentation to enhance its organoleptic characteristics: this idea is put forward in a study, published in the scientific journal *Food Chemistry*, by the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Kunming, the capital of the Yunnan province, China’s largest coffee-producing region. A research team led by Qiu Minghua established a microbial repository containing 655 endophytic fungal strains from five Yunnan Arabica cultivars across three maturity stages and selected six representative strains that could make coffee more flavorful.
Six representative strains selected through colonization capacity and enzymatic activity screening were applied to coffee cherry fermentation.
Among these, Talaromyces funiculosus KQ2 stood out in particular: used as a fermentation agent, this fungus was able to elevate the coffee’s sensory score by 1.5 points, exceeding the crucial threshold of 80 points and generating distinctive vanilla-cinnamon notes.
Metabolomic analysis confirmed a 17.11 % sucrose increase.
Compared to the introduced strains – the study notes – Talaromyces funiculosus KQ2 acts as a ‘primary processing plant’ within the coffee cherries, often exhibiting stronger pectinase and cellulase activities and harboring unique secondary metabolic pathways.
These functional traits facilitate the efficient degradation of complex mucilage polysaccharides, thereby significantly enriching the pool of flavor precursors.
“This functional profile positions these indigenous strains as promising candidates for precision fermentation in coffee processing,” the study states. “Consequently, systematic investigation within the microbial terroir framework offers a viable strategy to address limitations of exogenous fermentation. Such an approach provides a coherent framework for elucidating and modulating the characteristic flavor profiles of regional specialty coffees such as Yunnan arabica.”
The study further states: “The endophytic fungi inherently associated with coffee cherries represent a fundamental biological component that remains largely unexplored (L. Lu et al., 2022). These microorganisms inhabit healthy plant tissues throughout development, engaging in a mutualistic relationship with their host.
Their metabolic activity allows them to modify the biochemical profile of the host plant (Mulaw et al., 2013). Despite confirming a rich endophytic fungal community in coffee plants, research in the field remains predominantly descriptive, focusing on diversity and biocontrol (de Oliveira Junqueira et al., 2019). The functional role of specific endophytic fungi as defined fermentation agents and their systematic impact on coffee chemistry remain largely unexplored.”
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