As the Australian cocoa industry continues to gain momentum, new research has emerged to help identify and market regional flavour profiles.
Researchers have found where beans are fermented can have an even greater influence on the flavour of a finished chocolate bar than the cocoa trees themselves.
In a project conducted by the University of Queensland in collaboration with local growers, researchers found clear differences in the flavour of cocoa fermented at three Far North Queensland locations: Mossman, Fishery Falls and Mission Beach.
Mission Beach cocoa farmer and chocolate maker Chris Jahnke supplied the crop used in the trials.
He said the results scientifically backed some of what he had already suspected and found fermentation could account for almost half of the flavour produced in a chocolate bar.
Chris Jahnke is an Australian cocoa farmer and chocolate maker. (ABC Rural: Sophie Johnson)
The trials notably produced different flavour profiles in the cocoa from each fermentation site.
“The Mossman [cocoa] had a more fruity profile, the Mission Beach one had a more chocolatey profile, and the Fishery Falls one was kind of in between those,”
Mr Jahnke said.
He said this could provide Australian cocoa producers with a point of difference.
“Predominantly, it’s a kind of a marketing approach because in Australia … we concentrate on producing a premium chocolate product,” Mr Jahnke said.
Fermentation detemines about half of the flavour in chocolate. (ABC Rural: Sophie Johnson)
Fermenting cocoa
UQ food chemist Marlize Bekker said fermentation affected flavour through the activity of microorganisms naturally present in the environment.
“You have all these small microorganisms and, during fermentation, they produce a lot of metabolites,” Dr Bekker said.
“It’s their metabolites that produce all those precursor compounds that can later be transformed into cocoa flavour and more roasted flavour, sometimes a buttery flavour and even a tropical fruit flavour.”
Cocoa is fermented out in the open using wild yeasts. (Supplied: Chris Jahnke)
A metabolite is a substance produced when microorganisms break down nutrients during fermentation.
Unlike some other fermenting processes, cocoa is generally fermented using naturally occurring microorganisms rather than a specific yeast strain.
That means the environment where cocoa is fermented can influence which microorganisms are active and, ultimately, how the chocolate tastes.
Mr Jahnke is keen to explore further research into how fermentation changes between seasons and which yeasts are active at different stages of the process.
Cocoa beans are surrounded by a sweet, sticky substance when removed from the pod, which contributes to the fermentation process. (Supplied: Chris Jahnke)
Regional flavour
Jim McKerlie is executive chair of the Australian Cocoa Group, which is working to expand Australia’s cocoa industry.
He said the research could eventually help consumers choose chocolate based on its regional flavour profile, much like they might choose a wine based on where it was produced.
“People in the future would be able to say, ‘Well I’ve got this cocoa, this is from Tully and we know that from Tully it’s got these particular flavour profiles,'” Mr McKerlie said.
“You can go up and down that cocoa belt … and find different flavour profiles.”
Mr McKerlie said understanding the link between location and flavour could also influence how growers approached production.
Fermentation location contributes more to chocolate flavour than the cocoa plant itself, research has found. (ABC Rural: Sophie Johnson)
“As the cocoa industry expands … [growers] are going to be much more cognisant of the potential flavour profile they can produce.”
He added that Australian cocoa was marketed at a premium price compared to international bulk cocoa, and this research could help explain why.
“One of the factors that will justify that differentiation or that premium is the fact that you can say this is where it’s come from, this is the flavour profile that you get, and consumers love that.”
