Method of Myceliating Coffee

Abstract

The present invention includes a method of myceliating coffee beans including sterilizing the coffee beans, preparing a liquid tissue culture including an aliquot of fungal liquid tissue culture derived from liquid state fermentation, and inoculating the coffee beans with the fungal liquid tissue culture. Next, the step of enabling mycelium growth on the coffee includes controlling temperature, humidity, and sterility of the environment. The aliquot of fungal liquid tissue culture is optionally agitated to form hyphael conglomerations of mycelium having sizes of less than 1 mm in diameter.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13 / 844,685, filed Mar. 15, 2013, entitled “Method for myceliating coffee” which application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 697,506, filed Sep. 6, 2012, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]This invention pertains to methods of liquid-state and solid-state myceliation of agricultural materials into a range of potent nutraceutical and delicious functional foods for humans.BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION[0003]Tempeh is a soy-based product that typically utilizes Rhizopus oligosporus to ferment soybeans. R. oligosporus is also used to ferment other legumes.[0004]The present invention utilizes mycelium from select, referenced strains of Basidiomycota and Ascomycota fungi grown in liquid-state culture to solid-state ferment agricultural materials containing or admixed with plant, vegetable and or fungi biomass,...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

This patent is about a method for growing mushroom mycelia in a three-dimensional environment using small spherical conglomerations. This method accelerates the growth of hyphae and allows for continuous harvest of the liquid media. The resulting mushroom substrate has interstitial spaces between the substrate elements, which improves myceliation. The substrate is coated with a mixture of vegetable oil and lecithin, which enhances the neuro-protective effects of the mushroom substrate. The patent also describes a liquid state fermentation method that can be performed in an undisturbed environment. The resulting mushroom product has been found to have neuro-regeneration and neuro-protection properties. In one embodiment, the use of a specific mushroom species, Hericium erinaceus, is described.

Problems solved by technology

However, fruiting mushrooms can be time consuming.

Most medicinal and or gourmet mushrooms take a long time to come to fruition.

In contrast, plant cell walls are made of cellulose polysaccharides whose (1->4) b-glycosidic glucose linkages are likewise difficult to digest by our enzymes; however, as the cell walls of fungi are primarily composed of (1->3) b-glycosidic linkages, with (1->6) linked side chains, they may be broken down by minimal processing using water, heat and mechanical treatment into smaller, more easily digestible, immunologically-active polysaccharide molecules of variable microparticulate size called b-glucans, and related glycoprotein compounds.

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