34 COCOA 



The CRIOLLO class includes several varieties of cocoa 

 that have special characteristics allied with class 

 distinctions. For instance, there is Nicaraguan 

 Criollo, which yields very large but rather flat beans; 

 and there is Old Red Criollo, with beans that are 

 plumper and more rounded, but smaller than their 

 Niearaguan relations. 



Similarly there are several varieties of the FORASTERO 

 class: for instance, Cundeamor, with bottle-necked 

 pods and very good quality beans; Calabacillo, with 

 smooth, small pods containing small, flat beans; 

 Amdonado, with medium size pods and medium 

 quality beans that are all purple in colour and inclined 

 to be flat. 



Some authorities group Calabacillos as a separate 

 class. 



Trees of the same variety bear different coloured 

 pods some red, some yellow. To indicate the special 

 pod-colour characteristic of a tree, the descriptive 

 adjective amarillo (yellow) or Colorado (red) is added 

 to the variety name. 



The full botanical name of the cocoa trees which 

 are commonly grown in the Gold Coast and Ashanti is 

 FORASTERO, Amelonado amarillo, which is to say, they 

 belong to the yellow pod variety of the Forastero class. 



The Criollos are the aristocrats among cocoa trees; 

 they are delicate and difficult to cultivate, but they 

 yield the best quality beans. The Forasteros are the 

 middle class; they are moderately hardy and the beans 

 are of medium quality. Calabacillos, the hardiest 

 variety, will thrive under the worst conditions, but 

 the beans come last on the quality list. 



These distinctions in quality, as governed by class 

 or variety, are founded on facts furnished by scientific 



