Trufflus turns cacao husks into a sustainability story worth telling

When Ryan of Trufflus set out to make cacao husk tea, he assumed it would be simple: husks, hot water, done. It turned out to be as nuanced as bean-to-bar chocolate itself, and the result is one of the more inventive stories to come out of Kent's food and drink scene this year.

Ryan is the sole trader behind Trufflus, an artisan chocolate maker based in Medway. He had already begun investing in bean-to-bar equipment when he was approached by Flora from Growing Green about a sustainability grant through Growing Kent & Medway. The funding helped him secure a winnower, the piece of kit needed to separate cacao nibs from their husks, but the real value came from the thinking it prompted. As a small, home kitchen operation, Ryan admits he had always assumed sustainability was something for bigger businesses to worry about. The grant changed that.

Trufflus sources its beans from an organic and fair trade certified co-op in Ghana. The beans are roasted in a coffee roaster, rested, then ground into what Ryan calls a mix before being fed into the winnower. The nibs go on to become chocolate, and the husks, once destined for the bin, are dried, packaged and sold as cacao husk tea. Ryan has taken the circular thinking further still, packing the tea in pouches made with at least 30% recycled material and labelling them with fully biodegradable labels. It is not always the most polished packaging, but it tells a story wholesale stockists are increasingly keen to hear.

The response so far has borne that out. When Ryan brought the tea alongside his chocolate to Christmas markets, both sold out quickly, with traders and customers drawn in by the novelty and the sustainability angle alike. He is candid that sustainable practice is not always straightforward for a sole trader, but it is a principle he intends to keep building into Trufflus as the business grows.

Find out more and shop Trufflus at trufflus.co.uk