双语资讯 | 海南因优质巧克力闻名

China's tropical island province of Hainan has joined the ranks of celebrated places of origin for chocolate. World-class master chocolatier Pierre Marcolini played a big role in this transformation by debuting Grand Cru Hainan chocolates at his online flagship shops in June.

作为中国的热带岛屿省份，海南已跻身著名巧克力原产地行列。世界级巧克力大师皮尔·马克里尼（Pierre Marcolini）在这一转变中发挥了重大作用。他已于6月在其网上旗舰店首次推出了Grand Cru海南巧克力。

Two researchers check and monitor the flowers on cacao trees in a tropical botanical garden in Wanning, Hainan province, in July. LI TIANPING/FOR CHINA DAILY7月，在海南省万宁市的一个热带植物园里，两名研究人员正在检查和监测可可花。李天平（音译）/中国日报

"This is a fantastic Grand Cru. I feel a slight bitterness, very pleasant, without astringency, with notes of citrus, grapefruit. It is extraordinary," said Marcolini. The Belgian chocolate composer spoke via video about his latest bean-to-bar products made with beans grown in Hainan, a place he said he learned about by chance. Grand Cru, meaning"great growth" in French, was originally a classifier for fine wines.

马克里尼表示，“这是一款神奇的Grand Cru巧克力。味道有点苦，但口感丝滑，没有涩味，有柑橘和葡萄柚果香。这款巧克力与众不同。”这位比利时巧克力大师通过视频介绍了他最新推出的巧克力，这款巧克力由产自海南的可可豆直接加工而成。而对于海南，他是偶然间得知的。Grand Cru在法语中含有“特级”之意，最初用于高级葡萄酒的分类。

Always on the hunt for new resources in his frequent and far-reaching travels, Marcolini learned about the island in 2017 in the International Journal of Food Properties, a magazine published in the United States. It said Chinese scientists had developed a new variety of cacao in Hainan, a place already known for tropical fruits and economically important plants such as black pepper, vanilla, coffee, pandan, jackfruit, breadfruit, mango, litchi and wax apple. Cacao is the plant that produces seeds from which cocoa and chocolate are made. The seeds are often called cocoa beans.

马克里尼频繁出行，到处寻找新资源。2017年，他在美国出版的《国际食品属性杂志》上了解到海南。杂志中提到，中国科学家在海南开发了一个新的可可品种，而且海南以黑胡椒、香草、咖啡、班兰叶、菠萝蜜、面包果、芒果、荔枝和莲雾等热带水果和经济作物而闻名。可可是一种产种子植物，而其种子是制作可可粉和巧克力的原料。我们通常将可可的种子称为“可可豆”。

Late in 2020, 500 kilograms of cocoa beans were shipped to Brussels, the world's premier city for chocolate, from the Xinglong area of Wanning on the eastern coast of Hainan. The humid island environment, which includes vibrant biodiversity, imparted special qualities to the cocoa beans, including fine quality and special textures and flavors. This captivated Marcolini, who asked his representatives in China to look into the bean.

2020年末，他从海南东部沿海的万宁市兴隆地区将500公斤可可豆运往世界巧克力圣地——布鲁塞尔。海南所具有的湿润且充满活力的生物多样性岛屿环境赋予了可可豆特殊品质。岛上盛产的可可豆品质优良、质地特别，且风味独特。了解到这些情况后，马克里尼便要求他在中国的代表进行调查。

"This is the first time China has exported its locally produced cocoa beans," said Qin Xiaowei, deputy director of the Spice and Beverage Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, or CATAS, and lead author of the article that introduced Hainan to Marcolini.

马克里尼查阅的介绍海南的文章的主要作者，即中国热带农业科学院香料饮料研究所副所长秦晓威表示，“这是中国首次出口本地生产的可可豆。”

"The deal showed that our cocoa quality and production standards have been recognized by the international community," Qin said.

秦晓威还提到，“这笔交易表明，我们的可可质量和生产标准已经得到国际社会的认可。”

Local reports said that Marcolini has placed two additional orders of Xinglong beans.

据当地报道，马克里尼又下了两份兴隆可可豆的订单。

After learning that Hainan is building the world's largest free trade port and has enacted favorable tax-free policies on imports of raw materials and production equipment to encourage investment, Marcolini said he looked forward to visiting Hainan cacao plantations in person, understanding the local culture, and may consider opening a duty-free shop selling chocolates made with Hainan's quality cocoa beans, according to local reports.

据当地报道，在了解到海南正在建设世界上最大的自由贸易港，而且为鼓励投资，海南还对原材料和生产设备的进口颁布了优惠免税政策，马克里尼表示，希望亲自参观海南可可种植园，了解当地文化，并可能考虑开设一家免税店销售使用海南优质可可豆制作的巧克力。

Mark Huestch, a descendent of an eminent family known for their chocolate business in the US, said he was also impressed by the superb quality of the local beans during a recent tour to inspect the planting and fermentation process in Hainan.

来自美国巧克力世家的马克·韦斯特奇（Mark Huestch）表示，在其最近一次对海南的种植和发酵过程进行考察期间，当地可可豆的超高质量也给他留下了深刻印象。

"Hainan cocoa beans have a very unique flavor, with strong red fruit and nut flavors," Huestch said, adding that he would recommend his chocolate products made with Hainan beans to US consumers.

韦斯特奇提到，“海南可可豆风味独特，具有浓郁的葡萄柚和坚果风味”。他还表示会向美国消费者推荐他用海南可可豆制作的巧克力产品。

"With a growing number of orders flowing in from food producers at home and abroad, Hainan's cocoa production simply cannot meet market demand," said Li Fupeng, director of the Cocoa Research Center of CATAS, located at the Xinglong Tropical Botanical Garden, a base for the preservation of tropical and subtropical plants in China.

中国热带农业科学院香料饮料研究所可可研究中心主任李付鹏表示，“随着国内外食品生产商的订单越来越多，海南的可可产量根本无法满足市场需求”。该中心位于中国热带和亚热带植物保护基地——兴隆热带植物园。

While the known cultivation of cacao dates back thousands of years in Latin America, Hainan's cacao growing can be traced only to the 1950s, when returned overseas Chinese brought in seeds and grew them on farms and in the courtyards of their homes in Hainan.

尽管在拉丁美洲，已知的可可种植可以追溯到几千年前，但海南的可可种植只能追溯到20世纪50年代。当时归国华侨带回可可种子，并在海南的农场和家中的院子里种植。

The cacao cultivation area once reached some 667 hectares around 2004, following large-scale promotion efforts in the 1980s and 1990s. But the acreage dwindled to about 133 hectares mainly due to slack market demand and insufficient processing equipment and technologies, said Li.

李付鹏提到，在20世纪80年代和90年代的大规模推广工作之后，可可种植面积在2004年左右曾经达到约667公顷。但由于市场需求疲软，加工设备和技术不足，目前种植面积减少到约133公顷。

Over the past 60 years, researchers from the Spice and Beverage Research Institute have established a nursery for 500 varieties of cacao, making China an important base in the protection, evaluation and innovative utilization of cacao germplasm resources. A total of 21 new varieties have been developed through systematic breeding and artificial hybridization, boasting high yields, fat content and cold tolerance. The technology and standards for growing cacao in China have reached advanced levels, according to reports from CATAS.

在过去60年里，香料饮料研究所的研究人员建立了一个拥有500个可可品种的苗圃，使中国成为可可种质资源保护、评估和创新利用的重要基地。研究人员通过系统育种和人工杂交技术，共开发了21个新品种。这些品种具有高产、高脂、耐寒等特点。根据中国热带农业科学院香料饮料研究所的报告，中国可可种植技术和标准已经达到先进水平。

"The annual yield of Reyin No 4, China's first cacao variety with independent intellectual property rights, has reached 1,600 kg per hectare, 3.5 times higher than the world average. It has a unique flavor, fine quality and is rich in polyphenols," Li said. Polyphenols are compounds that can have health benefits.

“热引四号”是中国第一个具有自主知识产权的可可品种，其年产量已达每公顷1600公斤，是世界平均水平的3.5倍。李付鹏表示，“这些可可豆风味独特，品质优良，富含多酚。”多酚是一种对健康有益的化合物。

He said, however, that with a limited planting area, Hainan is not in a good position to compete with big cacao growing countries in terms of its cocoa bean industry's output. Hainan should explore an industrial path that is"small in scale but beautiful and exquisite in quality".

但是，李付鹏提到，由于种植面积有限，海南在可可豆产业的产量方面不具备与可可豆种植大国竞争的条件。海南应探索出一条“规模小而美、质量精”的工业道路。

Hainan is promoting cultivation of shade tolerant cacao trees in forests of rubber, coconut and areca palm trees, a practice known as"an economy under the trees".

海南目前正在推广在橡胶林、椰林和槟榔园中种植耐阴的可可树，这种做法被称为“树下经济”。

"While increasing the output per unit of land, we have found that planting cacao trees in coconut forests can play a role in protecting the growth of coconut tree roots, a practice that is not only conducive to building a complex agroforestry ecosystem and maintaining soil fertility but also helpful to farmers in generating more income in one place as well," Li said.

李付鹏表示，“在提高单位土地产量的同时，我们发现在椰林中种植可可树可以起到保护椰树根系生长的作用，这种做法不仅有利于建立复杂的农林生态系统，保持土壤肥力，而且也有助于农民在一个地方获得更多收入。”

Cultivation of high-quality cacao varieties will create favorable conditions for Hainan to build a superb origin and international brand of high-quality cocoa beans, he added.

他补充说，优质可可品种的培育将为海南打造优质可可豆超级产地和国际品牌创造有利条件。

Pods on a cacao tree ripen in Wanning. LI FUPENG/FOR CHINA DAILY

万宁市可可树上成熟的可可果。李付鹏/中国日报

Hainan has established a primary cocoa processing production line and a quality and safety control traceability system. It also has developed key processing technologies such as low-temperature drying and baking, ultrafine grinding, scientific fixation of aroma and flavor enhancement, local government officials said.

海南已经建立了初级可可加工生产线和质量安全控制追溯体系。据当地政府官员表示，海南还开发了低温干燥和烘烤、超细研磨、科学固香和风味提升等关键加工技术。

With the special features and quality of Hainan cocoa beans gaining more recognition, more domestic and foreign enterprises are looking to do business with the island province, said Liao Zirong, director of the Hainan tropical agriculture international technology transfer center of CATAS. An increasing number of local farmers are turning to the center, asking for technical guidance in cultivating new varieties of cacao trees, Liao said.

中国热带农业科学院香料饮料研究所海南热带农业国际技术转移中心主任廖子荣表示，随着海南可可豆的特点和质量获得更多认可，更多国内外企业希望与海南省开展业务。廖子荣还提到，越来越多的当地农民向该中心求助，要求在种植可可树新品种方面提供技术指导。

The Spice and Beverage Research Institute has reached agreements with international organizations and institutions such as the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center, or CATIE, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, and Ghent University of Belgium to boost future collaboration and exchanges in scientific and technological innovation, talent training, technical upgrades and brand development, said Qin.

秦晓威表示，香料饮料研究所已经与热带农业研究和高等教育中心（CATIE）、国际生物多样性中心（Bioversity International）和国际热带农业中心（CIAT）联盟以及比利时根特大学等国际组织和机构达成协议，旨在促进未来在科技创新、人才培训、技术升级和品牌发展方面的合作和交流。

Qin added that they will work together to promote the high-quality development of the cocoa industry in Hainan.

秦晓威补充说，这些国际组织和机构将共同促进海南可可产业的高质量发展。

Cocoa beans are rich in ingredients such as cocoa butter, the vasodilator theobromine and flavonoids, which are good for the heart, kidney and intestines. Experts have suggested that Hainan tap their potential health value and develop products with local features that can be marketed to tourists as gifts.

可可豆富含可可脂、可可碱和类黄酮等物质，对心脏、肾脏和肠道皆有益处。专家们建议海南挖掘可可豆的潜在健康价值，开发具有地方特色产品，并以此作为礼品向游客推销。

Cacao trees and their fruits are a special attraction for tourists, especially those from northern regions, as the fruit changes from green to yellow, pink and red as they become ripe.

由于可可果成熟后会从绿色逐渐变成黄色、粉红色和红色，因此可可树及其果实对游客特别具有吸引力，尤其是北方游客。

In Xinglong Tropical Botanical Garden, the attractive fruit, or pods, growing on the trunks and branches of the leafy trees－instead of only on the branches as with most other fruit trees－attract crowds of photo-snapping tourists. The pods contain seeds which are the cocoa beans. The DIY chocolate center also lures many to enjoy making chocolate themselves with cocoa beans harvested from the garden.

在兴隆热带植物园，诱人的果实吸引着大批摄影爱好者游客前来。这些果实长在枝繁叶茂的树干上，而不是像其他大多数果树那样只长在树枝上。豆荚中含有种子，也就是可可豆。DIY巧克力中心也吸引了许多游客。游客可在其间享受用果园里收获的可可豆自己制作巧克力的乐趣。

Xinglong garden, a famous tourist destination with more than 800,000 visitors annually, is home to more than 3,000 kinds of tropical plants, such as tropical spices, beverages, fruits, ornamental and medicinal trees and other plants as well as palms and tropical aquatic plants.

兴隆热带植物园是著名的旅游胜地，每年接待80多万游客。这里拥有3000多种热带植物，如热带香料、饮料、水果、观赏和药用树木等植物，以及棕榈和热带水生植物。

"It was very pleasing to see the wonderful and colorful fruits hanging on the cacao tree trunks. And it was even more exciting to have time to indulge in making sweet chocolates myself in Hainan," said Lao Ding, a tourist from Shandong province who took a day trip to the botanical garden, which also serves as a national environment science promotion and education center.

兴隆热带植物园是国家环境科学推广和教育中心。参加植物园一日游活动的山东游客老丁表示，“看到挂在可可树干上的奇妙而多彩的果实，令人非常高兴。而在海南亲手制作甜美的巧克力，更让人兴奋。”

"Cacao trees and their beans definitely will make Hainan more attractive, along with its popular sea views, soft beaches, tropical landscapes and the traditional food hospitality," said Wang Bin, a frequent visitor to Hainan in his 50s from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province.

来自四川省省会成都的50多岁的海南常客王斌（音译）表示，“除了令人神往的海景、柔软的海滩、热带风景和传统美食外，可可树及可可豆肯定会使海南更有吸引力。”

"The experience of DIY chocolates here was very entertaining and impressive. I believe people will be happy to see a small shop giving people a place to enjoy making chocolates themselves in my home city," said Wang, adding that he may open a bakery to make chocolates and sweet cakes with cocoa from Hainan.

王斌提到，“在这里体验DIY巧克力非常有趣，让人印象深刻。我相信，在我的家乡，有一家能够让人们享受自己制作巧克力乐趣的小店，人们一定非常高兴”，他表示会开一家面包店，并使用海南的可可制作巧克力和香甜的蛋糕。

Wang's idea is in line with a new boutique business model involving cocoa that is becoming popular in some big cities at home and abroad.

王斌的想法涉及一种新的可可精品商业模式。现在这种商业模式在国内外一些大城市很流行。

At present, China's annual per capita consumption of chocolate is less than 0.1 kg, less than 10 percent of that in Western countries. But the trend is growing at 15 to 20 percent annually, experts said. Imports of cocoa products－including beans, powder and cocoa butter－grew from 75,000 metric tons in 2010 to 108,000 tons in 2019, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

目前，中国年人均巧克力消费量不到0.1公斤，不到西方国家的10%。但专家表示，这一趋势正以每年15%至20%的速度增长。根据联合国粮食及农业组织的数据，可可产品（包括可可豆、可可粉和可可脂）的进口量从2010年的75,000吨增长到2019年的108,000吨。

"With small chocolate-making machinery becoming more budget-friendly, anyone can become a chocolate maker at home," said Huang Dantong, a bakery owner in downtown Haikou, capital of Hainan. He said he thinks more consumers want to buy high-quality cocoa beans and process them in their own way to create unique flavors, especially as COVID-19 keeps more people at home.

“海南省省会城市海口市中心的一家面包店老板黄诞桐（音译）表示，“随着小型巧克力机变得更加经济实惠，任何人都可以在家里制作巧克力。”他提到，他认为更多的消费者希望购买高品质可可豆，并以自己的方式进行加工，创造出独特的口味，特别是在新冠肺炎疫情期间，更多人留在家里的情况下。

"So Hainan's cocoa industry has good prospects in exploring its added value to bring in greater economic benefits, better serve the tourism sector and enhance its role in helping to build a more sound natural environment," said Liao, director of the technology transfer center of CATAS.

中国热带农业科学院香料饮料研究所海南热带农业国际技术转移中心主任廖子荣表示，“因此，海南的可可产业在探索其附加值以带来更大的经济效益，更好地服务于旅游业，并增强其在帮助建立更健全的自然环境方面具有良好前景。”