Overview

• Published August 18 in Nature Microbiology, the study comes from the University of Nottingham, the University of the West Indies, and the University of the Andes.
• Sequencing of fermenting beans from three Colombian farms identified five bacteria and four fungi consistently associated with premium flavor.
• Under controlled pH and temperature, inoculating sterilized beans with this defined community reproduced fine-flavor attributes in cocoa liquor.
• Tasting panels reported citrus, berry, floral, tropical fruit, and caramel notes in the lab-produced samples.
• The team says the findings could enable starter cultures or farm-level steps to bias fermentations toward higher-value flavor outcomes.