Stressed cocoa trees give tastier chocolate

Chocolates taste great, but they can become even tastier when the cocoa trees are grown in dry season and in high-stressed conditions, new research suggests. But more than the agricultural methods, the weather conditions in which cocoa trees are grown could have greater impact on the flavour of chocolates, according to the study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Cocoa trees grow in hot and humid climates near the equator. Traditionally, these trees are raised together in mixed groves with other types of trees and plants that can cool the air and provide vital shade.

The system, called agroforestry, provides a low-stress environment, increases nutrients in the soil and helps maintain ground water levels. But to gain higher yields, growers sometimes plant cocoa trees in solitary, “monocultural,” groves, in which the trees are exposed to stressful conditions.

In response to the stress, tress produce antioxidants that can potentially counteract the damage, but these compounds also could change the quality characteristics of the beans. The trees were raised in fullsun monocultural groves or in agroforest settings.

Slightly more phenols and other antioxidant compounds were detected in beans taken from monoculturally grown trees than those that came from trees grown with agroforest methods, the researchers said.

The larger contribution to chemical composition was the weather. Overall, the antioxidant content increased and fat content of the beans decreased during the dry season as temperatures rose and soil moisture dropped. These differences could contribute to variability in cocoa bean flavour, the researchers said.