PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for producing a taste improvement agent that can, by adding an extremely small amount to a food material such as cacao bean-containing food/beverage product, greatly enhance the taste thickness, body feeling and the like which said food material possesses, and that is free from unpleasant taste, can achieve improvement in balance, and in addition is improved in the state of the product, and can easily and inexpensively be prepared.SOLUTION: Provided is a method for producing taste improvement agent comprising a step in which the extract of cacao raw material is adjusted to pH 6 to pH 12, followed by heat treatment at 100°C to 180°C for 10 minutes to 5 hours to obtain a heat-treated product and in which the raw material of said cacao is a cacao bean unprocessed product or processed product, and the heat-treated product has a ratio of a value (A) obtained when the OD680 of a diluted solution thereof is measured to a corresponding value (B) of a pH non-adjusted heat-treated product, (A/B), of 0.88 or less.SELECTED DRAWING: None【課題】カカオ豆をはじめとする食品素材含有飲食品に極微量添加することで、当該食品素材が有する味の厚み、ボディー感などを大幅に増強し、雑味がなく、バランスの改善をはかることのでき、しかも製品の状態が改善され、簡便に、安価に調製することのできる呈味改善剤の製造方法の提供。【解決手段】カカオの原料の抽出液をｐＨ６～ｐＨ１２に調整した後、１００℃～１８０℃にて１０分～５時間加熱処理して加熱処理物を得る工程を含んでなり、かつ、前記カカオの原料がカカオ豆の未加工または加工物であり、前記加熱処理物が、その希釈液のＯＤ６８０を測定したときの値（Ａ）とｐＨ未調整加熱処理物の相当する値（Ｂ）との比（Ａ／Ｂ）が０．８８以下である、呈味改善剤の製造方法。【選択図】なし
