Types of Cocoa Beans: Every Cacao Variety From Criollo and Forastero to Nacional and CCN-51

Every chocolate bar in the world, from a convenience-store bar to a hand-made single-origin tablet, starts with the seeds of one tree: Theobroma cacao. Within that single species there is an extraordinary depth of genetic diversity, shaped over thousands of years by geography, climate, human selection and natural crossing, and it explains why cocoa beans from different farms can taste, yield and sell so differently.

The cocoa trade still sorts that diversity into a few familiar types of cocoa beans: Forastero, Criollo and Trinitario, joined by Nacional, Amelonado and modern clones such as CCN-51. DNA research has since shown that the three classic names are a simplification, and that cacao actually falls into at least ten distinct genetic groups. For chocolate makers, cocoa buyers, food brands and anyone curious about what is inside their chocolate, the useful picture combines both views: the trade names you will meet on contracts and labels, the genetics behind them, the flavours each type tends to give, where each one grows, how much of the world’s supply it makes up, and how to tell them apart.

Overview

All cocoa comes from Theobroma cacao, one of about 22 species in the Theobroma genus. Traditionally it is divided into three types: Forastero, the hardy, high-yielding workhorse that makes up roughly 80 to 85% of world supply; Criollo, the rare, delicate, low-bitterness cacao behind many luxury chocolates, at well under 5% of supply; and Trinitario, a hybrid of the two that first appeared in Trinidad in the 18th century and supplies around 10 to 15%. Nacional from Ecuador, Amelonado from West Africa and the high-yielding Ecuadorian clone CCN-51 are usually discussed as types in their own right.

Genetic studies group cacao into ten clusters (Criollo, Amelonado, Nacional, Marañón, Nanay, Iquitos, Contamana, Curaray, Purús and Guiana), with a further Caquetá group described in Colombia, which shows that “Forastero” is really many different populations. In trade, cocoa is also graded as bulk or fine or flavour: bulk cocoa, mostly West African Amelonado, makes up the large majority of the roughly 4.7 million tonnes produced each year, and 20 countries are officially recognised as exporters of fine or flavour cocoa. Variety sets a bean’s flavour potential, but fermentation, drying, roasting and origin decide how much of it reaches the chocolate.

Key facts

Types of Cocoa Beans at a Glance

1 species

Theobroma cacao, the source of all cocoa

10+

Genetic groups identified by DNA research

80 to 85%

Share of world supply from Forastero types

Under 5%

Share from Criollo, the rarest classic type

About 4.7 Mt

World cocoa production, 2024/25

Countries recognised for fine or flavour cocoa

Classification

One Species, Four Ways to Classify It

Cacao belongs to the Theobroma genus, a group of about 22 species of small tropical trees from Central and South America. Only Theobroma cacao is grown for chocolate on a commercial scale, although two relatives are used locally: cupuaçu (Theobroma grandiflorum), whose pulp and seeds are made into a chocolate-like product in Brazil, and macambo or pataxte (Theobroma bicolor), sometimes called white cacao.

Within Theobroma cacao, people sort cocoa in four different ways, and most confusion about “types of cocoa” comes from mixing them up:

System

Examples

Where it is used

System

Trade types

Examples

Criollo, Forastero, Trinitario, plus Nacional and Amelonado

Where it is used

Contracts, chocolate labels, everyday buying and selling

System

Genetic groups

Examples

Ten DNA-based clusters such as Criollo, Amelonado, Nacional, Marañón and Iquitos, plus Caquetá

Where it is used

Plant breeding, research, gene banks, specialty sourcing

System

Clones and cultivars

Examples

Named selections such as CCN-51, TSH, ICS, IMC and SCA, and heirlooms such as Porcelana

Where it is used

Farm planting decisions, yield and disease management

System

Market grade

Examples

Bulk (ordinary) or fine or flavour cocoa

Where it is used

Pricing, trade statistics and premium positioning

Cacao or cocoa?

Both words describe the same plant and beans. “Cacao” is often used for the tree, the pod and minimally processed beans, and “cocoa” for traded beans and processed products such as cocoa powder and cocoa butter, but there is no strict botanical difference.

Cacao flowers and pods grow straight from the trunk and main branches.

History

Where Cacao Came From: From the Amazon to the World

The story of every cocoa type begins in the upper Amazon basin, where wild cacao still grows in the forests where Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil meet. The names used in trade today carry that history: Criollo means native, Forastero means foreign, and Trinitario simply means from Trinidad.

About 5,300 years ago

The oldest known use of cacao comes from the Santa Ana-La Florida site in the Ecuadorian Amazon, where the Mayo-Chinchipe culture left cacao starch, theobromine residues and ancient cacao DNA in pottery. Cacao was first domesticated in the upper Amazon, not in Mexico as once believed.

Around 1500 BC onwards

Cacao travelled north into Mesoamerica, where the Olmec, Maya and Aztec peoples grew it, drank it and used its beans as currency. The cacao they selected over generations, with pale beans and mild flavour, became known as Criollo.

16th to 18th centuries

Spanish settlers called the cacao they found in Mexico and Central America Criollo, meaning native, and the hardier types from elsewhere Forastero, meaning foreign. Colonial plantations spread Amazonian Forastero cacao, especially the Amelonado type from Brazil, to the Caribbean, Asia and later West Africa.

1720s

A blight wiped out much of Trinidad’s Criollo cacao. Surviving trees crossed with Forastero cacao brought in from the region, and the hybrid became known as Trinitario, after the island.

Late 19th and 20th centuries

Amelonado cacao spread across Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Cameroon, turning West Africa into the world’s main cocoa region. Research stations in Trinidad and elsewhere began collecting Amazonian trees and breeding disease-resistant clones.

1944

The three-type classification of Criollo, Forastero and Trinitario was formalised from visible traits such as pod shape and bean colour. It still dominates trade language today.

1960s

In Naranjal, Ecuador, agronomist Homero Castro selected CCN-51, a high-yielding, disease-tolerant clone that later spread across Ecuador and beyond.

2008 to today

A DNA study of more than 1,200 cacao trees identified ten genetic groups, replacing the three-type picture in science. Later work described a further group from the Colombian Amazon, Caquetá, and genetic mapping of heirloom trees continues.

Type 1

Criollo: The Rarest and Most Prized Cocoa Beans

Criollo is the original cultivated cacao and the rarest commercially available cocoa. It is the type most associated with luxury chocolate: gentle, complex and low in bitterness. The same traits that make it special, a delicate tree, low yields and little resistance to disease, are also why so little of it is grown.

Trait

Detail

Trait

Meaning

Detail

“Native”, the cacao Spanish settlers first met in Mesoamerica

Trait

Share of world supply

Detail

Well under 5%; genetically pure Criollo may be 1 to 2% or less

Trait

Main origins

Detail

Venezuela (Zulia, Aragua, Chuao), Mexico (Chiapas, Tabasco), Central America, Peru, with Criollo-influenced cacao in Madagascar and Java

Trait

Pod

Detail

Long, pointed, deeply furrowed and often warty; red or yellow when ripe; thin, soft wall

Trait

Fresh bean colour

Detail

White to pale pink or lilac

Trait

Flavour

Detail

Mild, low bitterness; nutty, caramel, red and dried fruit, honey, light spice

Trait

Fermentation

Detail

Short, about 2 to 3 days

Trait

Disease resistance

Detail

Low

Trait

Yield

Detail

Low

Trait

Market grade

Detail

Fine or flavour

Botany: Tree, Pod and Bean

Criollo trees are slender and less vigorous than other cacao, with smaller leaves and a lighter canopy. Their pods are the most distinctive in the cacao world: usually long, with a pointed tip, ten deep furrows and a rough, warty surface. Two classic shapes are the elongated, sharply pointed cundeamor and the shorter, blunter angoleta. The pod wall is thin and soft, so pods are easy to open by hand.

Inside, the beans are plump and almost round in cross-section. Their pale colour comes from a lack of anthocyanins, the purple pigments found in other cacao, which also tracks with lower levels of bitter polyphenols. Most Criollo trees are self-compatible, meaning a flower can be pollinated by its own tree, which helped them stay genetically uniform over centuries of cultivation.

Sub-types and Regional Forms

Name

Where

What sets it apart

Name

Porcelana

Where

Venezuela (Lake Maracaibo basin)

What sets it apart

Smooth pods and almost pure white beans; the benchmark of pure Criollo

Name

Guasare

Where

Venezuela (Guasare River, Zulia)

What sets it apart

An ancient Criollo population studied as one of the purest surviving types

Name

Pentagona (Lagarto)

Where

Mexico and Central America

What sets it apart

Five-angled, rough, “lizard-skin” pods with pale beans

Name

Mexican Criollo

Where

Chiapas and Tabasco, Mexico

What sets it apart

Traditional Criollo of the region where Mesoamerican chocolate began

Name

Java light-breaking cocoa

Where

Java, Indonesia

What sets it apart

Criollo-derived cacao with pale “light-breaking” beans, often used for colour in milk chocolate

Name

Criollo hybrids

Where

Venezuela, Madagascar, Central America

What sets it apart

Criollo crossed with other types; sold as Criollo but with more vigour

History

Criollo is the cacao of Mesoamerica. The Olmec, Maya and Aztec peoples selected it over many generations for flavour, drank it in ceremonies and used its beans as money. After the Spanish conquest, colonial plantations in Venezuela and Central America grew Criollo for Europe, and “Caracas” cocoa from Venezuela became the most prized cocoa of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Its weakness was disease and yield. As demand for chocolate grew and blights struck, planters replaced Criollo with hardier Forastero and Trinitario. Today pure Criollo survives mainly in Venezuela, Mexico and Central America, in farmer cooperatives, estates and conservation collections.

On the Farm

Criollo needs good soils, shade and close attention. It is highly vulnerable to black pod, frosty pod rot and witches’ broom, and pest pressure is high. Yields are low, so farmers usually graft selected trees and rely on a fine-flavour premium to make the crop pay. Supply is small and seasonal, and many lots are reserved by chocolate makers before harvest.

Flavour Chemistry

Because Criollo beans carry few anthocyanins and less polyphenol, they are naturally less bitter and astringent, and their flavour precursors develop quickly. Fermentation is short, about 2 to 3 days; longer fermentation can flatten their delicate aroma. Light roasting keeps the notes Criollo is known for: dried fruit such as raisin and cherry, floral tones, almond and hazelnut, cinnamon and vanilla, and honey and toffee finishes.

Best Uses

Single-origin and estate bars, fine couverture for pastry chefs, premium drinking chocolate and ceremonial cacao, luxury truffles and confectionery, and high-end nibs. Because many “Criollo” lots are hybrids, brands that claim Criollo on the label should ask for genetic and origin documentation.

Type 2

Forastero: The Backbone of World Cocoa Supply

Forastero is the cacao that makes chocolate possible at the scale the world eats it. It accounts for roughly 80 to 85% of production, and its home today is West Africa, which grows around 70% of the world’s cocoa. Hardy, high-yielding and reliable, it gives the bold, classic chocolate flavour most people know.

Trait

Detail

Trait

Meaning

Detail

“Foreign”, the hardier cacao from outside the first Spanish colonies

Trait

Share of world supply

Detail

About 80 to 85%

Trait

Main origins

Detail

Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Brazil (Bahia), Indonesia

Trait

Main groups

Detail

Lower Amazon (Amelonado) and Upper Amazon types

Trait

Pod

Detail

Smooth or lightly furrowed, rounded; thick, hard wall; green ripening to yellow

Trait

Fresh bean colour

Detail

Deep purple; flatter beans

Trait

Flavour

Detail

Strong, classic cocoa; earthy, woody, nutty; more bitter and astringent

Trait

Fermentation

Detail

Longer, about 5 to 7 days

Trait

Disease resistance

Detail

High

Trait

Yield

Detail

High and reliable

Trait

Market grade

Detail

Mostly bulk (ordinary)

Botany: Tree, Pod and Bean

Forastero trees are vigorous, with large leaves and heavy pod loads. Their pods are usually smooth or only lightly furrowed, rounded at the end, and have a thick, woody wall that needs a machete to open. A pod typically holds 30 to 40 or more beans, which are flatter than Criollo beans and deep purple inside, coloured by anthocyanins.

Botanically, “Forastero” is not one variety but a catch-all for many Amazonian populations. They fall into two broad families with quite different traits:

Lower Amazon and Upper Amazon Forastero

Group

Where

Traits

Group

Lower Amazon Forastero

Where

Amelonado types from eastern Brazil, known as Comum in Bahia and grown as West African Amelonado

Traits

Uniform, self-compatible, the base of world bulk supply

Group

Calabacillo

Where

Lower Amazon and Ecuador

Traits

Small, round, very smooth pods; often grouped with Amelonado

Group

Upper Amazon Forastero

Where

Peru and Ecuador: Nanay, Iquitos (IMC), Parinari, Scavina and related populations

Traits

Vigorous and disease-resistant; parents of most modern hybrids

History

Forastero cacao was grown on a large scale in Brazil’s Bahia region from the 18th century. In the 1820s the Portuguese took Bahian Amelonado to São Tomé and Príncipe, and from there it moved to the island of Bioko and then to the mainland. Tradition credits Tetteh Quarshie with bringing cocoa pods to the Gold Coast, now Ghana, in 1879; within about 30 years the colony was the world’s largest producer. Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Cameroon followed, and Côte d’Ivoire became the world leader in the late 1970s.

From the late 1930s, collecting expeditions in the Peruvian and Ecuadorian Amazon brought Upper Amazon Forastero into research collections. When swollen shoot virus devastated West African farms, these vigorous trees were crossed with Amelonado to create the hybrids that now make up much of West Africa’s cacao.

On the Farm

Most Forastero is grown by smallholders on farms of a few hectares. In West Africa the main crop is harvested from about October to March and a smaller mid-crop from about May to August. Beans are commonly fermented in heaps under banana leaves or in boxes for 5 to 7 days and sun-dried on mats or raised tables. The trees tolerate a wide range of conditions, which is why they spread so widely.

Flavour Chemistry

Forastero beans are rich in anthocyanins and polyphenols such as epicatechin, which give bitterness and astringency. A full fermentation of 5 to 7 days, with regular turning, lets acids and heat break down the bean’s cell walls, start the flavour-forming reactions and oxidise many of the polyphenols, turning the beans from purple to brown. Under-fermented beans stay purple or slaty and taste bitter and harsh, which is why the cut test matters so much for this type.

Climate affects the beans too: cocoa butter from West Africa is generally firmer than butter from cooler-growing regions, a property chocolate makers value for snap and stability.

Best Uses

Mass-market and mainstream chocolate, couverture bases, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, cocoa mass for fillings and coatings, compound chocolate and baking products. Many premium makers also use well-fermented Forastero as a base and blend in fine cocoa for character.

Forastero-type cocoa pods on the tree

Dried West African cocoa beans in a village in Côte d’Ivoire

Type 3

Trinitario: The Hybrid With Flavour and Strength

Trinitario was born from a crisis in 18th-century Trinidad and has become the most widely grown fine-flavour cacao. It combines much of Criollo’s flavour with Forastero’s strength, which gives chocolate makers character without the supply problems of Criollo.

Trait

Detail

Trait

Meaning

Detail

“From Trinidad”, where the hybrid first appeared

Trait

Share of world supply

Detail

About 10 to 15%

Trait

Main origins

Detail

Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Colombia, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Indonesia, parts of Cameroon

Trait

Pod

Detail

Highly variable; green, yellow, red or purple

Trait

Fresh bean colour

Detail

Mixed, from pale to dark purple, often within one pod

Trait

Flavour

Detail

Balanced; red fruit, citrus, spice, nuts and caramel over a solid cocoa base

Trait

Fermentation

Detail

About 4 to 6 days

Trait

Disease resistance

Detail

Medium to high

Trait

Yield

Detail

Moderate to good

Trait

Market grade

Detail

Usually fine or flavour

Botany: Tree, Pod and Bean

Trinitario is a population of hybrids rather than a fixed variety, so it shows almost every trait of its parents. Pods can be long and furrowed like Criollo or smooth and rounded like Forastero, in any colour from green to deep red. Because the genes of the two parents recombine in each generation, a single Trinitario pod can hold a mix of pale and purple beans.

Sub-types and Regional Forms

Name

Where

What sets it apart

Name

ICS (Imperial College Selections)

Where

Trinidad

What sets it apart

Selected from the best Trinitario estates in the 1930s; widely planted for flavour

Name

TSH (Trinidad Selected Hybrids)

Where

Trinidad

What sets it apart

Bred for yield and disease resistance with good flavour

Name

Carenero Superior

Where

Barlovento, Venezuela

What sets it apart

A classic Venezuelan Trinitario trade origin

Name

Sur del Lago

Where

South of Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela

What sets it apart

Criollo-rich Trinitario; rich, nutty and fruity

Name

Hispaniola and Sánchez

Where

Dominican Republic

What sets it apart

Trade names for fermented (Hispaniola) and unfermented (Sánchez) Dominican cocoa

Name

Madagascar (Sambirano)

Where

Madagascar

What sets it apart

Trinitario with Criollo heritage; bright citrus and red berry

Name

Papua New Guinea

Where

Papua New Guinea

What sets it apart

Trinitario with a smoky note where beans are fire-dried

History

In the 1720s a blight wiped out most of Trinidad’s Criollo plantations. The island was replanted with hardier Forastero cacao brought from the Orinoco region of Venezuela, and the surviving Criollo trees crossed with it. The hybrid kept much of Criollo’s flavour with far more vigour, and planters carried it back to Venezuela and across the Caribbean.

Colonial powers later spread Trinitario to Sri Lanka, Java, Samoa and Papua New Guinea, Cameroon and Madagascar. In the 1930s, researchers in Trinidad selected the best estate trees as the ICS clones, and later breeding produced the TSH hybrids that are still planted today.

On the Farm

Most Trinitario is grown from grafted or rooted cuttings of selected clones, which keeps quality more uniform than seedlings. It is more disease-resistant and productive than Criollo, which makes it practical for smallholders who want a fine-flavour premium. Its flavour depends heavily on post-harvest work, so cooperatives and estates that control fermentation and drying get the most from it.

Flavour Chemistry

Chemically, Trinitario falls between its parents: more polyphenol than Criollo, less than Forastero, and a wider range of aroma precursors than either. Fermentation of about 4 to 6 days suits most lots, and makers can steer the flavour towards fruit, acidity or deep cocoa through fermentation, drying and roast. Mixed bean colours in a lot are normal and do not by themselves indicate poor fermentation.

Best Uses

Premium and gourmet bars, couverture, ganache and fillings, flavoured and infused chocolates, luxury drinking chocolate and premium baked goods. It is often the best balance of flavour and dependable supply for growing chocolate brands.

Trinitario pods vary in shape and colour because they mix Criollo and Forastero genetics.

Type 4

Nacional (Arriba): Ecuador’s Floral Cacao

Nacional, sold as Arriba, is widely regarded as one of the most aromatic cacaos in the world. It made Ecuador famous for fine cocoa, nearly disappeared in the 20th century, and is now being rediscovered and protected with the help of DNA testing.

Trait

Detail

Trait

Also called

Detail

Arriba or Arriba Nacional, from beans traded “upriver” of Guayaquil

Trait

Origin

Detail

Ecuador, especially the Guayas River basin and coastal provinces

Trait

Pod

Detail

Long, furrowed, green ripening to yellow

Trait

Fresh bean colour

Detail

Pale violet to purple, with some white beans

Trait

Flavour

Detail

Intensely floral (jasmine, orange blossom), tropical fruit, nuts; low bitterness

Trait

Fermentation

Detail

Traditionally short

Trait

Today

Detail

Pure Nacional is rare; most Arriba cocoa is Nacional crossed with Trinitario

Trait

Market grade

Detail

Fine or flavour

History

Nacional descends from the cacao of the upper Amazon in Ecuador, where the earliest known human use of cacao took place more than 5,000 years ago. In colonial times it was shipped from Guayaquil, and traders called the best, most aromatic beans “Arriba” because they came from upriver. By around 1900 Ecuador was the world’s largest cocoa exporter.

In the 1910s and 1920s, frosty pod rot and witches’ broom destroyed much of the crop. Farmers replanted with Trinitario brought from Venezuela, and the two crossed freely, creating the “Nacional × Trinitario” mix that makes up most Arriba cocoa today. From the 1980s, CCN-51 began to replace many of the remaining old trees.

Rediscovery of Pure Nacional

Pure Nacional was long thought lost. DNA testing has since confirmed surviving pure and near-pure Nacional trees, both on isolated farms in Ecuador and, famously, in the Marañón Canyon of northern Peru, where pods with a share of white beans were identified as pure Nacional and released as a celebrated chocolate around 2011. Heirloom preservation programmes now map and protect such trees.

Flavour Chemistry

Nacional’s signature floral aroma is linked to aromatic compounds such as linalool, which give jasmine and orange-blossom notes. Traditional processing uses a short fermentation to protect that aroma; over-fermentation and heavy roasting mute it. It is one of the few cacaos prized as much for aroma as for taste.

Ecuador’s Arriba Grades

Grade

Full name

Meaning

Grade

ASSPS

Full name

Arriba Superior Summer Plantación Selecta

Meaning

Highest grade: largest, best-fermented beans

Grade

ASSS

Full name

Arriba Superior Summer Selecto

Meaning

Very high quality

Grade

ASS

Full name

Arriba Superior Selecto

Meaning

High quality

Grade

ASN

Full name

Arriba Superior Navidad

Meaning

Standard export quality

Grade

ASE

Full name

Arriba Superior Época

Meaning

Lower grade

Best Uses

Single-origin and estate bars, floral chocolate pairings, specialty bonbons and premium drinking chocolate, especially where Ecuadorian heritage is part of the story.

Type 5

Amelonado: West Africa’s Workhorse

Amelonado is technically part of the Forastero family, but it deserves its own entry because it is the single most widely grown type of cacao. When people talk about West African cocoa, they are usually talking about Amelonado and its hybrids.

Trait

Detail

Trait

Name

Detail

From the smooth, melon-shaped pod (melón in Spanish)

Trait

Origin

Detail

Lower Amazon (eastern Brazil)

Trait

Main regions

Detail

Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Brazil

Trait

Pod

Detail

Smooth, shallow furrows, blunt end, thick wall; green ripening to yellow

Trait

Fresh bean colour

Detail

Deep purple

Trait

Flavour

Detail

Classic, strong, consistent cocoa

Trait

Fermentation

Detail

About 5 to 7 days

Trait

Market grade

Detail

Bulk (ordinary)

Botany

Amelonado trees are uniform and self-compatible, so they set pods reliably without cross-pollination from other varieties. The pods are smooth, with shallow furrows and a rounded, blunt end, and ripen from green to yellow. Each holds a large number of purple, fairly flat beans.

From Brazil to West Africa

Amelonado was the cacao of Brazil’s Bahia plantations. The Portuguese took it to São Tomé and Príncipe in the 1820s, and from there it reached Bioko and the West African mainland, including the Gold Coast in 1879. Its uniformity and reliable yields suited smallholders, and by the early 20th century West African Amelonado was the world’s main source of cocoa.

When swollen shoot virus spread through West Africa from the 1930s, research institutes began crossing Amelonado with Upper Amazon cacao. Today’s West African farms are a mix of old Amelonado trees and these hybrids, but the region’s cocoa is still often referred to simply as Amelonado.

Post-Harvest and Quality

In Ghana and much of West Africa, beans are traditionally heap-fermented under banana leaves for about six days and sun-dried on raised mats. Strict national grading, including cut tests for mouldy, slaty and insect-damaged beans, has made Ghanaian cocoa a benchmark for well-fermented bulk cocoa.

Best Uses

Cocoa powder and alkalized powder, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, mass-market chocolate and confectionery fillings and coatings; it is the standard reference flavour for “chocolate” in most of the world.

Type 6

CCN-51: The High-Yield Clone

CCN-51 is a modern clone bred for one goal, high yield with strong disease tolerance, and it delivers both. It has transformed Ecuador’s cocoa sector and divided opinion in the chocolate world.

Trait

Detail

Trait

Developed by

Detail

Agronomist Homero Castro in Naranjal, Ecuador, in the 1960s

Trait

Name

Detail

Colección Castro Naranjal, selection 51

Trait

Parentage

Detail

A cross of the IMC 67 and ICS 95 clones with an Ecuadorian Amazon selection

Trait

Genetics

Detail

Mainly Iquitos (about 45%), with Criollo (about 22%), Amelonado (about 22%) and small parts of Contamana, Purús, Marañón and Nacional

Trait

Pod

Detail

Reddish to maroon, ripening orange-red

Trait

Yield

Detail

Around 1 tonne per hectare, and far more under intensive management

Trait

Flavour

Detail

Acidic and astringent with weak cocoa flavour unless carefully fermented

Trait

Market grade

Detail

Bulk

Why Farmers Plant It

CCN-51 is self-compatible, vigorous and tolerant of witches’ broom, and its large beans carry plenty of cocoa butter. For a farmer, that means more pods, more beans and fewer losses, which is why it spread quickly through Ecuador’s coastal provinces and now covers a large and growing share of the country’s cacao, with plantings in Colombia, Peru and beyond.

Flavour and Processing

The trade-off is flavour. CCN-51 beans are high in polyphenols and acidity, so they taste astringent and sour with a thin cocoa note when processed like ordinary beans. Longer, well-turned fermentation, careful drying and blending improve it considerably, and some makers now produce good chocolate from it, but it remains classed as bulk cocoa. Ecuador trades it separately from Arriba cocoa.

The Debate

CCN-51 has raised farm incomes and Ecuador’s output, helping the country become the world’s third-largest producer. Critics point to the loss of heirloom Nacional trees as CCN-51 replaces them, and to the risks of relying on one clone. Many in the industry now promote a dual approach: productive clones for volume, and protected, well-paid Nacional for fine flavour.

Best Uses

Cocoa butter and cocoa powder, where its high fat yield is an advantage, mainstream chocolate and blends, and increasingly some carefully fermented single-origin products.

Side by side

Criollo vs Forastero vs Trinitario: The Differences at a Glance

Characteristic

Forastero

Trinitario

Criollo

Characteristic

Share of world supply

Forastero

About 80 to 85%

Trinitario

About 10 to 15%

Criollo

Well under 5%

Characteristic

Market grade

Forastero

Mostly bulk

Trinitario

Usually fine or flavour

Criollo

Fine or flavour

Characteristic

Main regions

Forastero

West Africa, Brazil, Indonesia

Trinitario

Caribbean, Latin America, Asia-Pacific

Criollo

Venezuela, Mexico, Central America, Peru

Characteristic

Pod (ripe)

Forastero

Smooth, rounded; yellow

Trinitario

Variable

Criollo

Long, pointed, ridged; red or yellow

Characteristic

Fresh beans

Forastero

Deep purple

Trinitario

Pale to dark purple

Criollo

White to pale lilac

Characteristic

Flavour

Forastero

Bold, classic, more bitter

Trinitario

Balanced, fruity, spicy, origin-led

Criollo

Mild, complex, low bitterness

Characteristic

Fermentation

Forastero

5 to 7 days

Trinitario

4 to 6 days

Criollo

2 to 3 days

Characteristic

Disease resistance

Forastero

High

Trinitario

Medium to high

Criollo

Low

Characteristic

Yield

Forastero

High

Trinitario

Moderate to good

Criollo

Low

Characteristic

Relative price

Forastero

Commodity baseline

Trinitario

Premium

Criollo

Highest premium

Characteristic

Best for

Forastero

Mass-market chocolate, powder, butter

Trinitario

Premium bars, couverture, blends

Criollo

Luxury and single-origin chocolate

Shares and fermentation times are typical ranges; individual farms and origins vary.

Science vs trade

The Myth of the Three Varieties: Is Criollo Really the Best?

The classic ranking puts Criollo at the top, Trinitario in the middle and Forastero at the bottom. It is a useful shorthand, but genetics and flavour science tell a more complicated story.

Forastero is not one variety

DNA studies show that “Forastero” lumps together many distinct Amazonian populations. West African Amelonado, Upper Amazon types and even Ecuador’s Nacional were once all called Forastero, yet they differ widely in pod shape, bean colour and flavour.

Trinitario is a label, not a fixed type

The original Trinitario came from Criollo crossed with Amelonado-type cacao in Trinidad, but many modern hybrids are also sold as Trinitario. Some well-known Trinidad selections contain more Forastero genetics than Trinitario.

Pure Criollo is very rare

Much of what is sold as Criollo is a Criollo hybrid. Its reputation also rests partly on scarcity: low yields and high prices encourage the idea that it must be best.

Flavour is not only genetic

Two beans with the same genetics can taste completely different depending on soil, climate, ripeness at harvest, fermentation, drying, roasting and conching. A poorly fermented Criollo can taste worse than a well-handled Forastero.

Bulk does not mean bad

Well-fermented West African cocoa gives a clean, strong chocolate flavour that many people prefer, and it is the base of most of the world’s chocolate and cocoa products.

Taste is personal

The best way to learn is to taste widely and note the type and origin of each chocolate. Over time, preferences for certain origins and types become clear.

The practical takeaway

Use the trade names to start a conversation with a supplier, then ask for the origin, the genetic background if known, and the post-harvest details. Those, together with a sample and a cut test, tell you far more about a lot than the variety name alone.

Modern science

The Genetic Groups of Theobroma cacao

In 2008, a large DNA study of more than 1,200 cacao trees replaced the three-type picture with ten genetic clusters, each named after the river basin or region where it was found. Later work on Colombian collections described a further group, Caquetá. These groups are verified genetic lineages, not marketing names, and they are what breeders and gene banks work with.

1. Criollo

Domesticated cacao of Central America and northern South America; pale beans and the strongest signs of human selection.

2. Amelonado

Lower Amazon cacao with smooth, melon-shaped pods; the main cacao of West Africa and the core of world bulk supply.

3. Nacional

Ecuador’s ancient aromatic cacao, from the Pacific side of the Andes and the Amazon headwaters.

4. Marañón

Upper Amazon cacao from the Marañón River region of northern Peru.

5. Nanay

Upper Amazon cacao from the Nanay River in Peru, used in disease-resistance breeding.

6. Iquitos

Upper Amazon cacao from around Iquitos, Peru (the IMC clones); the largest genetic component of CCN-51.

7. Contamana

Upper Amazon cacao from the Ucayali River area around Contamana, Peru.

8. Curaray

Cacao from the Curaray River on the Ecuador–Peru border; poorly represented in collections and a conservation priority.

9. Purús

Cacao from the Purús River basin of Brazil and Peru, partly still collected from wild trees.

10. Guiana

Wild cacao from French Guiana and the Guianas, genetically close to Amelonado.

11. Caquetá

A group described from the Colombian Amazon, showing that cacao’s diversity is still being mapped.

How Trade Names Map to Genetic Groups

Trade name

Main genetic groups

Trade name

Forastero

Main genetic groups

Mainly Amelonado, plus Upper Amazon groups such as Iquitos, Nanay and Contamana

Trade name

Criollo

Main genetic groups

Criollo group

Trade name

Trinitario

Main genetic groups

Criollo crossed with Amelonado, often with Upper Amazon genes in modern selections

Trade name

Nacional

Main genetic groups

Nacional group

Trade name

CCN-51

Main genetic groups

Iquitos, Criollo and Amelonado, with smaller parts of Contamana, Purús, Marañón and Nacional

Trade names describe how cocoa looks and behaves in commerce; genetic groups describe ancestry. Both are useful.

On the farm

Clones and Hybrids Farmers Plant Today

Most new cacao trees are not planted from wild seed but from selected clones and hybrids, chosen for yield, disease resistance and, increasingly, flavour. Their codes appear on farm records, research papers and sometimes chocolate labels.

ICS

Imperial College Selections, chosen from Trinitario trees in Trinidad in the 1930s; widely used for flavour in Latin America and Asia.

TSH

Trinidad Selected Hybrids, bred in Trinidad to combine yield and disease resistance with good flavour.

IMC, Nanay and Parinari clones

Upper Amazon collections from Peru that carry disease-resistance genes and appear in the parentage of many modern hybrids.

SCA

Scavina clones, valued for resistance to witches’ broom disease.

CCN-51

Ecuador’s high-yield clone, now planted across Latin America.

West African hybrids

Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire distribute improved, earlier-bearing hybrid seedlings through their national research institutes to replace old and diseased trees.

Variety choice shapes a farmer’s income for decades: a cacao tree can stay productive for 25 years or more.

Flavour

Cocoa Flavour Profiles by Type, and What Else Shapes Them

Variety sets a bean’s flavour potential: the precursors that fermentation and roasting later turn into chocolate flavour. These are the typical profiles of each type:

Type

Typical flavour

Notes

Type

Forastero / Amelonado

Typical flavour

Strong cocoa, earthy, woody, nutty

Notes

Can be bitter or astringent if under-fermented

Type

Criollo

Typical flavour

Mild, nutty, caramel, red and dried fruit, honey, spice

Notes

Delicate; easily muted by heavy roasting

Type

Trinitario

Typical flavour

Red fruit, citrus, spice, nuts, caramel, with cocoa depth

Notes

Strongly shaped by origin and fermentation

Type

Nacional

Typical flavour

Floral (jasmine, orange blossom), tropical fruit, nutty

Notes

Prized aroma; low bitterness

Type

CCN-51

Typical flavour

Acidic, astringent, thin cocoa flavour

Notes

Improves with longer, controlled fermentation

What Shapes Flavour Beyond the Variety

Terroir

Climate, soil, altitude and neighbouring plants all influence flavour. Ecuadorian cocoa often shows floral and fruity notes, while Ghanaian beans are known for a full, earthy cocoa character.

Harvest and ripeness

Beans from fully ripe pods ferment better and give more rounded flavour than beans from under-ripe or over-ripe pods.

Fermentation

The most important step on the farm. It develops flavour precursors, reduces bitterness and turns purple beans brown. Under-fermented beans taste bitter and astringent; over-fermented beans turn hammy or mouldy.

Drying

Slow, even sun drying locks in flavour. Fire drying can add smoky notes, and poor drying causes mould and off-flavours.

Roasting

Light roasts keep the fruity and floral notes of Criollo and Trinitario; darker roasts bring out the strong, bitter notes typical of Forastero chocolate and powder.

Processing

Conching, refining and, for powder, alkalization change flavour further. Alkalized cocoa powder is darker and milder than natural cocoa powder.

An open cacao pod showing fresh beans in white pulp

Women drying fermented cocoa beans in the sun

Market grades

Fine or Flavour vs Bulk Cocoa

Alongside variety, cocoa is traded in two broad quality classes. Bulk (ordinary) cocoa, mostly from Forastero and Amelonado trees, makes up the large majority of world supply and goes into mainstream chocolate, cocoa powder and cocoa butter. Fine or flavour cocoa has distinctive aroma and flavour, usually from Criollo, Trinitario or Nacional genetics combined with careful post-harvest handling, and it commands a price premium.

Fine or flavour status is assessed by country, based on the planting material grown, the chemical and sensory character of the beans, and how they are handled. The current official list recognises 20 producing countries and the share of each country’s exports that qualifies:

Country

Share of exports recognised as fine or flavour

Country

Brazil