Scientists in Reading create all-British chocolate bar from home-grown cocoa
Researchers at the University of Reading have produced a chocolate bar made entirely from cocoa beans grown in Berkshire, marking the university's 100th anniversary. Previously, only the late queen had tasted an all-British chocolate bar, given to her in 1932.
Scientists at the University of Reading have succeeded in producing a chocolate bar made entirely from cocoa grown on British soil, an achievement previously accomplished only once in history. In 1932, confectionery maker Rowntree's presented a similar bar to the future queen, then six years old, using cocoa grown in a glasshouse at its York headquarters.
Now, master's student Maha Khan has recreated that feat using cocoa from the university's own plant collection. She personally harvested, fermented and processed the beans through the university's food department, overseeing the entire journey from pod to finished bar.
Khan described the resulting chocolate as delicious and richly flavoured, noting that it draws its complexity from plants representing more than 300 different cocoa varieties. She also noted that the raw beans are covered in a white pulp with a taste resembling lychee — an experience few people in Britain ever get to try.
Climate change threatens cocoa farming
Britain's chocolate market is worth £10.4bn, yet the industry depends entirely on imported cocoa. The University of Reading houses an international cocoa quarantine centre holding more than 300 cocoa varieties, through which 97% of the world's international cocoa plant movements pass.
Khan pointed out that cocoa plants are highly sensitive to shifts in temperature and rainfall, and that climate change is already disrupting production in the countries that grow most of the world's cocoa. Chocolate prices have climbed in recent years as heat has stunted plant growth and heavy rains have flooded crops across Africa. Preserving a wide range of varieties, she said, could help identify hardier plants for the future.
So far, only six bars have been made, with future production depending on the availability of beans, since a single cocoa pod can take up to six months to mature. Khan said she hopes to give one bar to the Princess of Wales, who, like the chocolate itself, was born in Reading.
