Types of Cocoa
Types of cocoa grown
There are three broad types of cocoa FORASTERO and CRILLO plus TRINITARIO which is a hybrid of Forastero and Crillo. Within these types are several varieties.
FORASTERO, which now forms the greater part of all cocoa grown, is hardy and vigorous producing beans with the strongest flavour.
AMELONADO is the Forastero variety most widely grown in West Africa and Brazil. It has a smooth yellow pod with 30 or more pale to deep purple beans.
CRILLO with its mild chocolate flavour is grown in Indonesia, Central and South America. Crillo trees are not as hardy and they produce softer pods which are red in colour, containing 20-30 white, ivory or very pale purple beans.
TRINITARIO plants are not found in the wild as they are cultivated hybrids of the other two types. Trinitario cocoa trees are grown mainly in the Caribbean area but also in Cameroon and Papua New Guinea. The mostly hard pods are variable in colour and they contain 30 or more beans of variable colour but white beans are rare.
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