Investigating the elicited emotion of single-origin chocolate towards sustainable chocolate production in Indonesia

Abstract

Abstract In the market, single-origin chocolate is gaining high attention. However, up till now, there is no study investigating the characteristic single-origin chocolate from different regions in Indonesia, particularly in the aspect of emotional conceptualisation. Thus, the first part of this study was designed to investigate the elicited emotion of single-origin chocolate consumers in Indonesia. Chocolates were prepared from cocoa beans obtained from seven regions in Indonesia with two different roasting methods (dynamic and static). Later, a conceptual approach to find the correlation between the development of single-origin chocolate and the development of a rural area, particularly in the cocoa-producing region, in Indonesia was given, which was elaborated. The results show that based on 120 respondents, chocolate made of cocoa beans from Makassar obtained the highest consumer acceptance level due to the lowest bitterness, aftertaste duration, and aftertaste intensity, as well as the highest sweetness level. The roasting method had no significant effect on the hedonic response implying that the quality of raw material had a more pronounced impact on the quality of the chocolate than the roasting method. Single-origin chocolate elicited particular emotions, such as pleasant, calm, feeling good, satisfying, enthusiastic, happy, and stimulating. The development of single-origin chocolate can contribute to the economic impact on rural areas where cocoa trees grow.