Minus Coffee
About the start-up
At Minus we reduce supply chains, food waste, and negative impact by creating delicious, sustainable and valuable products through fermentation. We are a ten-person company founded in 2020, applying our technology to the creation of bean-free coffee beverages. In doing so we remove the negative societal and environmental impact of coffee production. We launched a cold brew product in 2022 and will be launching a coffee grounds product early in 2024.
The Opportunity
Under the supervision of the fermentation lead, the student will manage a project fermenting upcycled plant ingredients using microbial inoculants they will have isolated from coffee cherries. The resulting fermented material will be roasted and analyzed for volatile compounds. Where appropriate, the student will use next generation sequencing technology to understand how the microbial community evolves over time. The purpose of the project is to understand the flavor compounds generated by each microbial species. This is within the context of our coffee grounds project where the aim is to produce specific flavor notes that contribute to the coffee like attributes of the product.
Primary responsibilities
Contribute to the building on Minus’ microbial culture collection.
Develop assays to down-select microbes to use as fermentation inoculants.
Manage plant-based ingredient fermentation.
Prepare fermentation material for analytical chemistry and sensory analysis
About you
Master student within biotechnology, biochemistry, microbiology, food science or similar.
Hands on microbiology experience including using aseptic technique to isolate single strains.
Preparation of DNA from biological samples.
An ability to multi-task and excellent time-management skills.
A passion for the application of biotechnology to create sustainable products.
Pluses
Experience or knowledge of fermented foods or beverages.
Knowledge of food science, particularly the creation of flavors through roasting.
Experience analyzing next generation sequencing data
Looking for
Biotechnology, biochemistry, microbiology, food science.
Location
San Francisco, California