\nSimilar to the Coffee Wheel. Courtesy Barry Callebaut<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\u00a0<\/div>\n The Chocolate industry divides cocoa trees into three major species:<\/div>\n \u00a0<\/div>\n Criollo<\/strong><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/div>\n Criollo cocoa beans account for less than 5% of the world\u2019s production, due to their succeptibility to numerous blights. Partly because of its rarity, and partly because of its delicate flavor profile (which emphasizes fruit and other long-lingering secondary flavors over the more bitter and and astringent baseline chocolate notes) it\u2019s considered a delicacy. Most blends that include criollo use it in small proportions.<\/div>\n \u00a0<\/div>\n Criollo is native to Central and South America, and the Caribbean island of Sri Lanka. Subspecies include Andino, Pentagana, and Porcelana.<\/div>\n \u00a0<\/div>\n Forestero<\/strong><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/div>\n Much more robust than Criollo, Forastero cocoa comprises over 80% of the world\u2019s production. It has strong bitter notes, basic chocolate flavor, and fewer of the fruity and acidic top notes than the other varieties. It tends to come on strong and have a short finish.<\/div>\n \u00a0<\/div>\n Forastero cocoa is native to the Amazon basin, and today is grown in Ecuador, Brazil, and much of equatorial Africa. Subspecies include Amelonado, Arriba, Cundeamor, and Calabacillo. While Forestero\u2019s reputation is as a commodity chocolate, some subspecies and some farms present exquisite examples. Michel Cluizel\u2019s Vila Gracinda, one of my favorite culinary chocolates, is 100% Amenolado.<\/div>\n \u00a0<\/div>\n Trinitario<\/strong><\/div>\n\u00a0<\/div>\n Trinitario is a hybrid of Criollo and Forastero varieties, attempting to merge delicacy of the former with the robustness of the latter.<\/div>\n \u00a0<\/div>\n Trinitario is believed to have origninated in Trinidad, and is now grown in Mexico, the Caribbean, Colombia, Venezuela, and Southeast Asia. It\u2019s a dominant componant in many fine chocolates.<\/div>\n \u00a0<\/div>\n \n In Conclusion<\/del>\u00a0Refutation<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\nRather than a conclusion, this appendix gets a refutation: almost everything I\u2019ve written about these cocoa varieties is bullshit. I had to include it, because it\u2019s the conventional industry knowledge, and without this information you won\u2019t know what anyone’s talking about.<\/div>\n |