FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - From a mission trip to the first bean-to-bar chocolate company in Arkansas - hear the story of KYYA Chocolate and get free samples as the U of A's Department of Food Science hosts a tasting and information session from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Aug. 23 in FDSC rooms D1-D2.

The Cacao to Cocoa Tasting Event is free and open to anyone interested in learning more about chocolate processing or the food science program in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. Attendees must register here by the end of the day on Aug. 20 to ensure enough samples are available.

"There is so much science involved in making chocolates," said Jeyam Subbiah, head of the Department of Food Science. "Cocoa beans have several antioxidants that contribute to sensory and health. Food scientists optimize the processing conditions to minimize the loss of antioxidants during the conversion of cocoa beans to chocolate. While the quality of input cocoa beans varies dramatically based on growing regions and seasons, food scientists and engineers tune the processes to achieve consistent quality of chocolates."

At age 47, Rick Boosey was well on his way to retirement from the tech world of Microsoft and Dell, but something kept nagging at his heart. In 2012 he served on the board of directors of a small non-profit team working in a local orphanage in Kampala, Uganda, Africa. He saw the immense lack of resources and poverty of the orphanage first hand. Overwhelmed by the need, and thinking about his four adopted daughters, he realized he needed to do something long term to help the situation.

Cocoa beans are the fourth-largest export product in Africa. Boosey decided to create the first bean-to-bar chocolate company in Arkansas. The name KYYA comes from the Greek word KAIA, which means simple and pure, and that is how he envisioned his company.

He didn't know how or where to begin creation and production of chocolate from beans, but he received guidance through the Department of Food Science's Arkansas Food Innovation Center and from Jean-Francois Meullenet, then department head and now associate vice president for agriculture-research with the U of A System Division of Agriculture. Boosey went from a small kettle making only one type of chocolate syrup to a large stand-alone manufacturing facility producing many flavors of chocolates and selling products in multiple stores.

"Though KYYA is a small company, I am passionate about what I do," said Boosey. "The Department of Food Science and KYYA have a great mutually beneficial relationship. Mikaela, my first employee, graduated from the food science program and she has been a blessing. She is passionate, smart and most importantly persistent. I would love to hire more students out of food science."

Boosey recently opened a second retail store in Fayetteville. He has also established a pipeline of food science undergraduate students filling internships in his chocolate factory. 

KYYA is now a multi-million dollar company which donates 10 percent of its profits to the orphanage in Uganda.  

For more information about the event or food science, contact Rosa Buescher at rosab@uark.edu.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture. For more information about Bumpers College, visit our website, and follow us on Twitter at @BumpersCollege and Instagram at BumpersCollege.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2.7 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.