The company isolates single cells from cocoa plants and feeds them with nutrients until they reach a few hundred grams. The cells are then fermented, roasted and turned into chocolate. The resulting product tastes very similar to real chocolate because most of its flavor comes from the processing of cocoa beans.
Lab-grown chocolate aims to address some of the environmental and ethical issues associated with traditional cocoa farming. The cocoa supply chain is fragile and most cocoa is grown in the equatorial countries of Africa, South and Central America. Climate change is already affecting crops and farmers are cutting down forests to meet the growing demand for chocolate. Many cocoa farmers are unable to make a living, resulting in child labor. California Cultured hopes its sustainable, low-cost chocolate is the solution to these problems.
However, the company still has a long way to go before lab-grown chocolate is commercially available. So far, the company has only rough prototypes of milk chocolate, which requires a much simpler taste profile than dark chocolate. If all goes as planned, it will take about four years to produce a chocolate that will convince the company’s CEO, Alan Pearlstein, to enter the market.
Source: Ferra
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