Smoky off-flavors in cocoa aren't caused solely by smoke

Fermented cocoa occasionally exhibits off-flavors that can compromise the quality of chocolate and other cocoa products. But what causes these undesirable flavors? Researchers at the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich have now shown that overfermentation of cocoa beans can cause smoky, leathery and cheesy off-flavors. Smoky flavors, therefore, are not necessarily attributable to smoke contamination.