Fat-Free, Sugar-Free, Sweetener-Free Chocolate: Cacao s Health-Food Future Gregory Aharonian World Cocoa Conference 25 April 2018 greg.aharonian@kukaxoco.org.com
KUKAXOCO KukaXoco is a startup based on finding new chemistries to allow use of no sugar and little fat in making chocolate KukaXoco brings to the industry a variety of little known/used plants from the Andes and Amazon Greg Aharonian, the founder, is based in San Francisco and Costa Rica, also spending time in Cali, Colombia and Lima, Peru, working with cacao and coca farmers and researchers
Is Sugar a Threat to Chocolate Industry? MILLIONS OF TONS OF SUGAR ARE USED EACH YEAR TO TURN CACAO INTO CHOCOLATE SUGAR HELPS TREAT THREE MAIN PROBLEMS: ACIDITY BITTERNESS ASTRINGENCY POLYPHENOLS KUKAXOCO HAS NEW CHEMISTRY TO HELP REDUCE SUGAR USE
Chocolate >60% Sugar/Fat Average Milk Chocolate >50% Sugar CHOCOLATE PRODUCTS Serving Fat Sugar Percent Size (grams) (grams) (grams) Fat/Sugar Dagoba 74% Dark 56 24 14 68% Dove Silky Smooth Dark 42 14 19 78% Endangered Species 88% Dark 43 20 5 58% Equal Exchange 71% Dark 37 16 10 70% Equal Exchange Organic Hot Cocoa 17 0 11 64% Ferrero s Nutella 37 12 21 89% Ghiradelli Double Hot Chocolate 35 1.5 27 81% Godiva 70% Dark 40 17 11 70% Godiva 31% Milk 40 13 20 82% Green & Blacks Organic Dark 35 15 9 68% Hershey s Special Dark 41 12 21 80% Hershey s 2%-Fat Chocolate Milk 38 5 25 78% Lindt 70% Dark 40 19 12 78% Mars 3 Musketeers Bar 54 7 36 80% Original Chocolate Tesco 100 35 59 94% Newman s Own 70% Super Dark 64 28 16 68% Scharffen Berger 82% Extra Dark 43 19 8 63% Swiss Miss Dark Hot Chocolate 35 3.5 19 64% Theo Chocolate 70% Organic Dark 42 16 12 66% AVG= 75% AHA DAILY ADDED-SUGAR MAX 37 - men 25 - women
KukaXoco s Breakthrough in 2014 Brew up to two bags of coca tea Stir in two tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa Drink! Unpleasantness is eliminated, retaining much color, smell and taste of cacao with no sweeteners nor fat, and no aftertaste. Both ingredients consumer safety tested for 300+ years. No need for pre-processing of cacao to de-bitter, which destroys nutrients.
KukaXoco s Breakthrough in 2014 MARKETING/LICENSING PROBLEM Coca tea, and coca tea extracts, contain the coca alkaloid. While proven across 300+ years of consumption in South America to be harmless (effect similar to caffeine), it is technically illegal for sale outside South America because drug laws are not based on science. Thus, little interest in our technology circa 2015/6.
2017 - Solution with help of Peruvian Coca Authorities ENACO* Coca-Leaf Extract (de-cocainized) Has FDA status as being Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS). See: U.S. Code of Federal Regulation 21 C.F.R. 182.20. Coca-Cola uses the equivalent (maybe???). *ENACO La Empresa Nacional de la Coca, Peruvian government agency, Lima www.enaco.com.pe - controls market/exports for legal coca products in Peru
Hot Cacao Powder Prototype: 2017 Product Prototyping Simple prototype 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cacao powder, up to 2 teaspoons of ENACO decocainized powder, bit of salt. Un-optimized chocolate taste creates similar experience to a cup of black coffee ($6 billion US sales), while being healthier. Working with food engineers in Peru to finalize a hot-chocolate taste, and begin production. Chocolate milk: final formulation can be added to whole/low-fat milk with no added sugar.
KukaXoco s Darkest Chocolate Current formulation is: Cacao Liquor Coca Extract 100 grams 4 grams Effectively a 96% cacao chocolate. Chocolate has a pleasant dark chocolate taste, more so using lower-acidity Peruvian and Venezuelan varieties of cacao, with minimal taste of coca leaf. A smidgen of salt improves chocolate taste. Has standard texture/snap/melting of chocolates.
KukaXoco s Darkest Chocolate EXTREME DARK CHOCOLATE COMPARISON KUKAXOCO 96% COCOA 50 grams fat, 0 grams sugar VIVANI 92% COCOA 59 grams fat, 7.0 grams sugar LINDT 90% COCOA 55 grams fat, 7.5 grams sugar, alkali CHOCOLOVE 88% COCOA 53 grams fat, 13 grams sugar TESCO 85% COCOA 47 grams fat, 15 grams sugar
KukaXoco s Breakthrough NEW OPPORTUNITIES WITH CACAO CHEMISTRY GC/MS of neutral basic volatiles isolated from cocoa powder. No overlap with GC/MS of coca leaf extract.
KukaXoco s Breakthrough In light of our work discovering new cacao chemistries, I estimate that less than 40% of cacao chemistry is truly understood and mastered. (see lack of acidity data below). For a $100 billion/year industry, this is scientifically unacceptable.
KukaXoco s Safe Chocolate
KukaXoco s Safe Chocolate PROTOTYPE KUKAXOCO CREAM UNSWEETENED CACAO PROTEIN POWDER ART. SWEETENER SALT SUGAR LEAF EXTRACT WATER CURRENT FORMULATION 5% FAT/SUGAR
KukaXoco s Safe Chocolate PROTOTYPE KUKAXOCO CREAM FAT SUGAR 220 grams UNSWEETENED CACAO $3.60 22g 0g 320 grams PROTEIN POWDER $6.40 13g 0g 15 grams ART. SWEETENER 0g 15g 5 grams SALT 10 grams SUGAR --------- $1.00 0g 10g 3 tbsp. LEAF EXTRACT 30 grams SODIUM PROPIONATE (3 tbsps) 590 grams WATER 2.5 cups --------------- -------- ----- ----- 1200 grams $11.00 35g 25g (35+25)=60g/1200g = 5% fat/sugar at a cost of 105 grams per dollar. Nutella = 89% fat/sugar at a cost of 123 grams per dollar. Add water and bulking agents? Very low fat/sugar chocolate milks and ice creams
KukaXoco s Safe Chocolate EASY 10 MINUTE PROCESS TO MAKE: Powders Additives Water/Extract Mix Ingredients Blend Smooth Cream
ACIDITY CACAO PROBLEM: CACAO IS ACIDIC
KukaXoco s Darkest Chocolate BUT GREG, THIS STILL TASTES (A BIT) BITTER YOU LIE! WELL, YOU ARE PUCKERING IS THAT REALLY BITTER? WELL, NO, IT IS ACIDIC. WHY?
CACAO PROBLEM ACIDITY Material ph Reference Source Cacao nibs 2.0-5.0 Callebaut - U.S. Patent 8,460,739 Cacao powder 5.0-5.8 CCBOL Group Cacao powder 5.7 ICCO data Hershey cacao powder 5.7 2 tablespoons in 1 cup hot water Cacao beans, unfermented 6.1-6.3 Univ. Ghana study 2013 Milk chocolate 6.5 Internet consensus Milk chocolate Nestle 6.3-6.7 U.S. Patent 4,081,568 Cacao butter 6.6 Lees & Jackson (book - 1973) Chocolate milk 6.85 22 grams sugar/240 ml Cacao powder Dutch 7.0 Internet consensus Water 7.0 Acid/Base boundary Quoting Dr. Anga: If you can t measure it, you can t manage it. The ICCO needs to fund a comprehensive database of such data, precisely measured. More data at: www.kukaxoco.org/debittering-process.htm
CACAO PROBLEM SOURCING LOW ACIDITY Material ph Hershey cacao powder 5.7 Hershey cacao powder Dutch 7.0 (20 times less acidic) Problem with Dutch process is that it degrades some of the phytonutrients that make cacao the new health food, due to use of potassium carbonate an alkaline as harsh as ammonia. We are now seeking varieties of naturally low acidity cacao (Peru, Venezuela), or cacao producers that roast and ferment in ways that minimize acidity and astringency.
CACAO PROBLEM ACIDITY a tough balancing act how much fermentation time? TOO BITTER TOO ACIDIC 0 hours FERMENTATION TIME 72 hours but by using coca extracts to block bitterness, fermentation time can be lessened for lower acidity TOO BITTER TOO ACIDIC 0 hours FERMENTATION TIME 72 hours and using miraculin to ease fermentation needs allows you to optimize drying time to lessen astringency TOO ASTRINGENT LESS ASTRINGENT 0 minutes DRYING TIME 72 minutes
Opportunities for Cacao Farmers
Opportunities for Cacao Farmers As an illustrative example of a formulation of unsweetened cocoa and coca extract, with rain forest plant extracts, we have: unsweetened cocoa (theobromine) red yeast rice (lovastatin, 2-4 mg) rice bran oil (tocotrienol) Protium heptaphyllum resin (triterpenes) purple tea extract - blood pressure - cholesterol - obesity - obesity - fat absorption When mixed with cacao, red yeast rice and rice bran oil do not alter flavor. Protium traditionally has been used by coca chewers, and recently has been reported to reduce obesity in mice with high-fat diets. This technology turns cacao into a medical food pleasure and health. Maybe Bayer should consider a medical chocolate product line.
Opportunities for Cacao Farmers KukaXoco s technology is easy to use anywhere. Last night, in my hotel room, spending 10 minutes, I was able to make a batch of KukaXoco chocolate cream, that at 5% fat/sugar, that should embarrass those making 90% fat/sugar chocolate creams. Anyone, anywhere, can easily make. Decocainized coca leaf extracts are legal around the world, and ENACO the Peruvian government agency will be glad to ship to cacao producers in Africa. Cacao farmers can thus produce value-added cacao products, if not manufacture new chocolate products of their own direct to consumers. Contact ENACO at www.enaco.com.pe
Opportunities for Cacao Farmers EASY 10 MINUTE PROCESS TO MAKE: Powders Additives Water/Extract Mix Ingredients Blend Smooth Cream
New Marketing for Cacao Farmers AFRICAN/SOUTH AMERICAN CACAO FARMERS new chemistry, new products bitcoin AMAZON WEB SERVICES DIRECT SALES U.S. CONSUMERS social marketing
BOLD PLOY FOR AFRICA FINANCIAL ANALYSTS: HERSHEY IS MISMANAGED - e.g., stock value dropped $3 billion in months after Hershey bought a beef jerky company in 2015. FACT: IN GLOBAL MARKETS, THERE ARE OVER NINE TRILLION DOLLARS OF NEGATIVE INTEREST BONDS - $9,000,000,000,000. People pay you to borrow their money. Crazy, but true. PROPOSAL: AFRICAN COUNTRIES FLOAT A 0.0%, 25-YEAR BOND AND RAISE $25 BILLION DOLLARS.
BOLD PLOY FOR AFRICA WITH $25 BILLION DOLLARS AVAILABLE: l AFRIQUE DEVRAIT ACHETER (SHOULD BUY) HERSHEY!!!!
BOLD PLOY FOR AFRICA WITH THE HELP OF: AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK WORLD BANK USAID MARS CARGILL ETC.
BOLD PLOY FOR AFRICA JUST DO IT NOW! l AFRIQUE DEVRAIT ACHETER (SHOULD BUY) HERSHEY!!!!
Current Activities of KukaXoco
Working with Cacao Farmers Greg, coca fields in the Yungas, northern Bolivia, 2015 - one of the loveliest places in the world to do chocolate R&D Greg, cacao farm, Valle de Cauca (southern Colombia, 2017) seeking new varieties of cacao close to the region s coca farms
KukaXoco Going Forward In the fall of 2018, KukaXoco plans to launch a crowdfunding campaign to finalize our first product: We have a team that spans the Americas and we would love to add team members from Africa.
KukaXoco Going Forward One goal of our crowdfunding campaign is to raise funds to open Cacao/Coca Research Centers in Colombia and Peru. The Centers will gather samples of cacao, coca and other exotic plants to determine the best combinations to make the safest, healthiest chocolates on the planet. We would love to work with ICCO to build these centers.
THANK YOU! JUST SAY NO TO SUGAR!!!!!