On Tuesday, July 16th, Nestlé announced that it has created the world’s first 70% dark chocolate made entirely from fruit. The brand new chocolate, made only with cocoa fruit, will be tested in Kit-Kat form in Japan come fall. And although we’re intrigued, we’re also totally skeptical that a 100% natural chocolate is actually going to taste good. Hm…
“Introducing the first 70% dark #chocolate made using only one ingredient – cocoa fruit!” Nestlé captioned both an Instagram and a Twitter post on July 17th. “Powered by Nestlé #innovation, the first launch is with @kitkat this autumn.”
The new chocolate is made only from the beans and pulp of the cocoa fruit and is free from all traces of refined sugar. According to a July 16th Nestlé press release, the new dark chocolate reportedly has the same texture, taste, and quality of traditional dark chocolates. We’ll have to be the judges of that, Nestlé.
“We’re proud to bring chocolate lovers a new chocolate made entirely from the cocoa fruit without adding refined sugar,” said Patrice Bula, Head of Strategic Business Units, Marketing and Sales at Nestlé, per the press release. “This is a real innovation which uses the natural sweetness of the cocoa pulp to provide a pure, novel chocolate experience.”
Nestlé reports that the pulp of the cocoa fruit is usually discarded, and has never been used to naturally sweeten chocolate before. Therefore, what the company is doing is completely new.
New from Nestlé! We've created the first 70% chocolate made entirely from cocoa fruit. Get the inside track on the news, including the first launch with @KITKAT in Japan. pic.twitter.com/Iweo2wusZa
— Nestlé (@Nestle) July 16, 2019
Not too shabby, Nestlé. Not too shabby.
Not only has Nestlé created a “healthier” chocolate, but this new recipe is also doing right by the environment. Rather than creating waste with the unused pulp, the company is putting it to work instead.
The new chocolate, branded as “Cacao-Fruit Chocolate,” will reportedly be introduced as “a Japan KITKAT product,” and will be available for purchase come fall 2019. Those of us not in Japan will be able to order the product online.
No extra added sugar is awesome! Especially since the new food labels itemize added sugar.
— DaveRolnik (@daverolnik) July 17, 2019
We agree. Heart-eyes emojis all around.
😍😍
— Silafaga Lalua (@niuslady) July 16, 2019
And yes, we’re all planning to do some major taste testing. It’s only right.
Hey, if we can feel less guilty about eating pounds-worth of Kit-Kats, then we’re all for change. (Side note: this is NOT how one should break a Kit-Kat!)
Cacao fruit is grown on trees in tropical regions around the Equator. Each cacao pod can grow to be anywhere from 5″ to 12″ long, and can contain upward of 30 seeds, or beans.
For those of you wondering what the difference is between cacao and cocoa, let us fill you in. Cacao typically refers to the tree, pod, and bean/seed as a unit, whereas cocoa is used to refer to the bean after it has been fermented, dried, and roasted.
Although nowadays, some of the pulp is set aside to help the fermentation process, most of it is discarded after harvesting. However, according to the Champlain Chocolate Company, that pulp that Nestlé is now using to sweeten their chocolate was actually used to make cocoa wine as early as 3,000 years ago.
Nestlé, can you start making cocoa wine? That would be life-changing.
Until Nestlé decides to enter into the alcohol market, we’ll just have to make do with Cacao-Fruit Chocolate. And TBH, we’re fine with that.
I love it!!!
— g2rm (@g2rm2002) July 16, 2019
And like a fine bottle of wine, these new Kit-Kats looks classy AF. We’re going to feel like real adults eating these new candies.
Congrats on doing a good thing, Nestlé. We’re looking forward to digging into an all-natural Kit-Kat ASAP.
If any of you get the chance to try one of these new Kit-Kats when they come out later this year, please tell us your thoughts and opinions.
