Scientists from the US and Peru searched for undiscovered chocolate in Peru’s Amazon Basin during 2008-2009. Their hunt for wild cacao trees yielded the discovery of 342 specimens from 12 watersheds.
Yep, that means there is possibly 342 never tasted before new chocolate strains. Chocolate is the one of the most complex foods we know. It contains more than 600 flavor compounds. (Red wine has only 200.) Chocolate can be bitter, sweet, fruity, nutty, and savory all at once.
But sadly for chocoholics, it will be several years before any taste tests happen. Cacao is a slow-growing tree; it takes at least five years for a tree to bear pods.
Several years ago, the Amazon yielded up a wild cacao strain in Bolivia that Swiss chocolate maker Felchlin released in a limited edition bar called Cru Sauvage (Wild Vintage) for about $60 per pound. Its flavor was apparently so arresting, it inspired one writer for Outside Magazine to journey into the ‘heart of dark chocolate’ (commonly known as the Amazon) in search of the man who helped bring it to market.
via NPR