Harvested Cocoa Trees

Most agree that cocoa trees grow in 3 major groups: Criollo, Amazonian Forastero, and Trinitario. All types harvested today are varieties or cultivars whose origin and history is hard to know…

Most agree that cocoa trees grow in 3 major groups: Criollo, Amazonian Forastero, and Trinitario. All types harvested today are varieties or cultivars whose origin and history is hard to know: 

– mutations have occurred spontaneously,

– natural crossings have occurred,

– later, selections were made.

All these types are interfertile; they provide vigorous and fertile hybrids, so they all seem to belong to the same species.

THE CRIOLLO GROUP 

Main characteristics: pods are red or green before maturity, elongated (diameter less than ½ length), with a very accentuated tip at the lower end, marked with 10 deep furrows. These pod characteristics have nothing absolute and we find that the surface has a smooth and rounded shape.

Plump, almost round beans: with fresh white cotyledons (these are the Criollo’s most important characteristics), not very rich in tannin, easy fermentation, pleasant aroma, sweet flavor.

Criollo trees provide fine, very aromatic cocoa, with low bitterness, which is why they are used in luxury chocolates. But they are not commonly cultivated because they are less vigorous and more susceptible to disease than the other two varieties. The numerous research studies conducted on cocoa trees did not focus on the Criollo species, something we now regret. 

THE AMAZONIAN FORASTERO GROUP

Widely distributed in Brazil, Ecuador, Central America, Northern South America, and all over West Africa.

Main characteristics: green pods, yellow at maturity, variable forms, generally rounded, smooth surface, little to no furrowing, beans more or less flat with fresh cotyledons, dark purple:

contain more tannin than criollos, ferment less easily, have a bitter taste and an acidic aroma.

Forastero trees provide almost all the cocoa from Brazil and West Africa (80% of world production). These cultivars are vigorous, resistant to disease, and premature. Amazonian hybrids are also becoming increasingly important in the production of quality cocoas.

THE TRINITARIO GROUP

These are very heterogeneous hybrids, probably a cross between Amazonian Forasteros and Criollos, and were given the name Trinitario. Their botanical characteristics are difficult to define, as one can observe many similarities to Criollo and Forastero types, such as the shape of the pods, the shape, the size, and the color of the beans. Trinitario trees constitute 10 to 15% of the world’s cocoa production, which is also between the two previous varieties. They are harvested where Criollo trees were formerly harvested: in Mexico, Central America, Trinidad, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and in Africa; especially in Cameroon.