2 weeks ago
Reading Student Makes First All-British Chocolate Since 1932
A student in Britain made a chocolate bar all by herself.
She made it using cocoa beans that grew at a special plant centre at her university.
The chocolate is special because every part of it comes from Britain.
That hasn't happened since 1932.
Back then, a chocolate company made a British chocolate bar for a princess.
The student had to do a lot of work to make the chocolate.
She picked the beans, dried them, roasted them, and mixed them with milk and sugar.
She only made six bars because cocoa grows slowly.
She made the chocolate to show that climate change can hurt the food we eat.
Hot weather and plant diseases can damage cocoa crops around the world.
Maha Khan, a food security master's student at the University of Reading, made the Reading 100 Chocolate Bar using cocoa grown in Berkshire.
It is described as the first edible 100 per cent British chocolate bar since 1932, when Rowntree's made one for Princess Elizabeth.
Khan fermented, dried, roasted and processed the beans and blended the cocoa with milk and sugar using university facilities.
The project is meant to highlight how climate change, pests and diseases threaten cocoa production, with an estimated 30 to 40 per cent lost.
Only six bars have been produced so far, from cocoa grown at the university's International Cocoa Quarantine Centre, which holds more than 300 cocoa varieties.
- Who
- Maha Khan, a food security master's student at the University of Reading, with support from the university's International Cocoa Quarantine Centre.
- What
- Creation of the Reading 100 Chocolate Bar, described as the first edible 100 per cent British chocolate bar since 1932.
- Where
- Reading and Berkshire, at the University of Reading and its International Cocoa Quarantine Centre.
- When
- No specific date given; the bar was made to mark the University of Reading's 100th anniversary.
- Why
- To mark the university's 100th anniversary and draw attention to challenges facing cocoa production, including climate change, pests and diseases.
Key facts
- Product
- Reading 100 Chocolate Bar
- Maker
- Maha Khan, food security master's student at the University of Reading
- Milestone
- First edible 100% British chocolate bar since 1932
- Previous similar bar
- 1932 Rowntree's bar given to Princess Elizabeth
- Cocoa source
- International Cocoa Quarantine Centre, Berkshire
- Bars produced
- 6
- Cocoa varieties at the centre
- More than 300
- UK chocolate market value
- £10.4 billion
Quotes
Maha Khan
Food‑security master’s student at the University of Reading
“It is incredible that we can make 100 per cent British chocolate – but in the context of climate change, pests and diseases, there are estimates that 30 to 40% is lost.”
easterneye.biz
“It has been amazing to follow the entire chocolate‑making process, from pod to bean to bar, without leaving Reading.”
easterneye.biz
Sources
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