SoylentNews

Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Humans have put yeast to work for thousands of years to make bread, beer, and wine. Wild strains of yeast are also found in the natural fermentations that are essential for chocolate and coffee production [sciencedaily.com]. But, as new genetic evidence reported in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on March 24 shows, the yeasts associated with coffee and cacao beans have had a rather unique history.

In comparison to the yeasts found in vineyards around the world, the new work shows that those associated with coffee and cacao beans show much greater diversity. The findings suggest that those differences may play an important role in the characteristics of chocolate and coffee from different parts of the world.

"Our study suggests a complex interplay between human activity and microbes involved in the production of coffee and chocolate," says Aimée Dudley of the Pacific Northwest Diabetes Research Institute in Seattle. "Humans have transported and cultivated the plants, but at least for one important species, their associated microbes have arisen from transport and mingling in events that are independent of the transport of the plants themselves."

Coffee and cacao trees originally grew in Ethiopia and the Amazon rainforest. They are now widely cultivated across the "bean belt" that surrounds the equator. After they are picked, both cacao and coffee beans are fermented for a period of days to break down the surrounding pulp. This microbe-driven process also has an important influence on the character and flavor of the beans.

There are five food groups [wordpress.com]: Milk Chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, chocolate truffles, and coffee.

Original Submission