While there are twenty known cultivars and hundreds of hybrid, out of that there are three main cultivars of cacao used for chocolate production.

 

Forastero is the most common produced cocoa cultivar around the world, because of high stable yields, environmental hardiness, and good disease-resistance. Therefore, it beans make up most (roughly 84%) of the world chocolate production. The furrowed smooth pods can be yellow, orange, red, or purple in color and hard to open. The beans are a rich dark purple and consider as “bulk bean” for they are not very flavorful as other cultivars, such as Criollo.

 

Trinitario is a hybrid between Criollo and Forastero cultivars. It originates from the Trinidad, an island nation located of the coast of Venezuela, in 1730. It combines the hardiness of Forestero with the flavor fullness of Criollo. The pod and bean characteristic can vary greatly. It can be used as both a “bulk” and “fine bean” by chocolatiers, as a result is often in high demand.

 

Criollo is the least commonly grown of the cocoa cultivar, because of low diseases-resistance, and high vulnerable to environmental conditions. Therefore it very difficult to grow, making up only 5 % of the total cocoa production. It is commonly found throughout central South America. The warty pods are yellow or red in color. The beans are range in color from white to light purple. Due to bean’s complex and heightened flavor profiles, it is used to product “very fine”, high quality grade chocolate. 

 

Nacional is a minor cultivar that is very difficult to grown and prone to disease, however the main advantage is its wonderful sweet aroma. It is commonly grown in areas west of the Andes in South America.

[12-15, Photo 20-23]