How many different types of cacao beans are there?
There are probably hundreds of different hybrid varietal subspecies of cacao beans, broadly grouped into three main types: criollo, forastero, and trinitario. A fourth sub-type is the Nacional bean, a forastero type with criollo characteristics that originated in Ecuador. Cacao beans are grouped into two major categories, fine flavor (or aromatic) cacao, and “ordinary” cacao. Criollo beans fall into the fine flavor category of bean. Criollo beans produce chocolate with much richer and more intense flavors but at the same time more subtle than the other types of beans. Criollo trees are less resistant to disease, mature later, produce for fewer years, and produce fewer pods than forastero or trinitario trees. Perhaps the most highly prized criollo variety—it is certainly one of the rarest—is Porcelana, which comes from the Spanish word for porcelain, referring to the very pale color of the flesh of the fresh bean. Forastero beans fall into the ordinary category of bean. Forastero trees
