The secret to tastier chocolate

SCIENTISTS have discovered a way to make tastier and cheaper chocolate, and it's all about microbes.

- By Jaymi McCann

Made by fermenting cocoa beans, the taste is a result of the microbes from different farms and locations.

Now a study published in Nature Microbiology has revealed nine different types of bacteria that can be used to perfect cocoa fermentation and get better-tasting chocolate with fewer beans.

This is key with climate change having affected crop yields globally and led to significant price rises.

Extreme weather in West Africa caused a cocoa shortage resulting in a 17.7% price increase in the 12 months to May.