University of Reading crafts limited-edition British chocolate from home-grown cocoa

To mark its 100th anniversary, the University of Reading produced a chocolate bar made entirely from cocoa beans grown in Berkshire, a first since the future queen received a similar bar in 1932. Maha Khan, a master’s student, oversaw the full process from pod to finished bar within the university’s food department, describing the taste as rich and noting a lychee-like white flesh on the raw beans. The project underscores the UK’s dependence on imported cocoa and the threats climate change poses to cocoa farms worldwide.

Reading’s international cocoa quarantine centre, which houses more than 300 varieties and manages most global cocoa plant movements, aims to safeguard genetic diversity for future resilience. Only six bars have been produced, and further batches depend on the slow growth cycle of cocoa pods. Khan mentioned the possibility of gifting a bar to the Princess of Wales, linking the new creation to the historic royal connection.