• How does enzyme fermentation work?
• Why is DAYES Enzyme Fermented Coffee pricier than other coffees?
• Do you sell K-cups?
• Why is your coffee not organic?
• Do you do mold testing on your coffee?
• How much caffeine is in DAYES enzyme fermented coffee?
• What enzymes do you use in the fermentation process?
• How do I brew DAYES Enzyme Fermented Coffee?
• How do I store DAYES Coffee so it stays fresh?
• Why is there air inside my DAYES Coffee packaging?
• Do you offer a dark roast?
• Where is your roasting facility located?
• When did DAYES Coffee first open in America?

 

How does enzyme fermentation work?

(1) Coating in Enzyme Complex: Green coffee beans are first coasted with an enzyme complex to allow the enzymes to attach to the beans.
(2) Incubation for Fermentation: The green beans are then placed in an incubator to ferment at a controlled, fixed temperature.
(3) Even Fermentation: The beans are mixed during the fermentation process to ensure all beans ferment evenly.
(4) Post-Fermentation Drying and Roasting: After fermentation is complete, the beans are dried again and roasted by DAYES Coffee to enhance their flavor.

Why is DAYES Enzyme Fermented Coffee pricier than other coffees?

·  Enzyme Fermentation and Cost: The fermentation process, previously done in South Korea and followed by shipping to the USA, increased the product's cost due to shipping and handling expenses. There was no facility in the USA to process enzyme fermentation until October 2024.

·  Building a Facility in the USA: Beginning in 2024, Days Coffee will build its own fermentation facility in Middletown, New York, allowing it to produce high-quality, locally controlled products. A new 'Made in USA' product will launch in February 2025.

·  Coffee Beans Used: The company uses 100% Arabica beans of specialty grade, with blends sourced from Brazil Mogiana, Colombia Supremo, and Ethiopia Yirgacheffe or Guatemala Antigua. These high-quality beans are popular among premium coffee drinkers. Most recent begin 2024, coffee bean prices are rising due to a combination of factors, including climate change, droughts, and increased demand. The arabica bean, which makes up about 60% of the world's coffee, is especially vulnerable to climate change.

·  Future Products: The company plans to release other blends in 2025 that will be more affordable for customers who are not seeking the specific health benefits offered by enzyme-fermented coffee.

Do you sell K-cups? 

Unfortunately, we do not have K-cups available as we pack our coffee in our coffee shop. However, many of our customers use a reusable K-cup so they can fill it with any ground coffee. You can purchase one here.

Why is your coffee not organic?

·  Consistency in Fermentation: Organic coffee beans can vary in flavor depending on the batch, which affects the consistency of enzyme fermentation. As a result, using non-organic beans helps maintain more consistent flavor profiles.

·  Cost Considerations: The enzyme fermentation process results in about a 20% weight loss in coffee. Since the beans are shipped to South Korea for fermentation and then returned to the USA for roasting, using organic beans would significantly increase costs. The company is still refining its supply chain and may offer more options in the future.

·  Minimizing Pesticides: To minimize pesticide use, the company uses 100% Arabica beans grown at high altitudes (over 1,200 meters). These alpine conditions reduce the need for pesticides as there are fewer insects and organisms.

·  High-Grade Beans: The company has chosen to use specialty-grade coffee beans, which score above 80 points on a 100-point scale. Specialty-grade beans are grown with great care, usually at high altitudes, and are sold at a premium. This decision increases the cost, but it ensures a higher quality product for customers.

Do you do mold testing on your coffee?

Yes we do! We have our own in house mycotoxin testing equipment that allows us to take samples from each batch of fermented coffee to ensure that no mycotoxins are found. So far all our tests reveal no traces of mycotoxins. 

We have also done 3rd party testing in Korea that showed the coffee is mycotoxin free. 

How much caffeine is in DAYES enzyme fermented coffee?

Initially, we used an enzyme complex from Japan, and our analysis shows that it reduces caffeine content by 85.91% to 92.60% compared to regular coffee, as shown below. For reference, an 8 oz cup of regular coffee contains about 95 mg of caffeine (depending on the coffee), whereas DAYES enzyme-fermented coffee would have approximately 11.4 mg of caffeine.

Starting in 2025, we moved the enzyme complex production from Japan to South Korea due to the lower caffeine content. Our analysis of the new enzyme-fermented coffee shows that it contains 64% less caffeine than regular coffee. In a comparison between an 8 oz cup of regular coffee and enzyme-fermented coffee, the caffeine content is approximately 95 mg versus 34.2 mg, respectively.

What enzymes do you use in the fermentation process?

The enzyme process is patented and developed from fermentation traditions in Korea. Due to the proprietary nature of the process, the details are confidential. However, we can share with you the general steps that are involved. 

·  Washing the green coffee beans in clean water.
·  Soaking the beans at 37-45°C for a few hours in an enzyme complex (now we changed to Korea Enzyme from Japan), which allows the enzymes to attach to the beans.
·  Fermentation in an incubator at a constant temperature, with slow mixing to improve efficiency.

How do I brew DAYES Enzyme Fermented Coffee?

The brewing process is different for each person depending on the coffee making equipment you use at home. Please see our home brewing guide here. It covers the most popular brewing methods written by our roast master Dr. Grant Lee.

How do I store DAYES Coffee so it stays fresh?

To keep coffee fresh - minimize exposure to oxygen, sunlight, moisture, and high temperatures. 

Option 1: When you receive your DAYES Coffee, keep it in the original packaging but place it in a cool, dry place. There is a degassing valve in the packaging that prevents oxygen from getting in and removes carbon dioxide. The packaging also naturally blocks out light. 

Option 2: Store your coffee in an specialized air tight coffee container that’s opaque to prevent sunlight from entering. 

Why is there air inside my DAYES Coffee packaging?

Because DAYES coffee is roasted fresh. The packaging is not vacuum-packed to allow the beans to degas and expel carbon dioxide. Degassing helps develop the best taste for the coffee. The special valve on the packaging ensures that carbon dioxide is expelled and oxygen does not enter.

Vacuum-packed beans are typically not freshly roasted and already degassed before packaging. 

Do you offer a dark roast?

Our coffee roasting philosophy is that we don’t roast our coffees past medium dark roast (also known as Full City roast). This is because Dr. Grant Lee, the founder of DAYES Coffee, is a retired cancer pathologist. He believes roasting the coffee to dark roast (French roast) burns the coffee beans, and eating burned foods could be harmful to our health.

Where is your roasting facility located?

243 W Main St, Middletown, NY 10940 is the address of our roasting facility and Coffee Fermenting Lab with specialty coffee shop. We roast the coffee in small batches to ensure maximum freshness.

 

When did DAYES Coffee first open in America?

DAYES Coffee Roasters Shop had their official Grand Opening on February 9, 2022 in 28 North Street, Middletown, NY until April 2024. And then from September 2024, relocated to new renovated and upgraded shop in 32-34 North Street, Middletown, NY.  We moved roasting facility with specialty coffee tour shop in 243 W Main Street, Middletown, NY.