Criollo, which has been cultivated since pre-Columbus times, is a variety of cocoa from the tropical climes and fertile lands of Central America. It got its name, Criollo (the noble one), because of its exceptionally good flavour. Its cocoa beans are particularly aromatic and have an unmistakable character. It provides fine chocolates with, above all, their exquisite taste.

Criollo trees are characterised by their long, pointy, crenate and warty looking fruit. They are extremely sensitive and susceptible to disease. They, therefore, yield substantially less than Forastero cocoa trees – the so-called, consumer cocoa. For this reason, Criollo is only cultivated in small quantities. The total yield of Criollo beans amounts to only 3-5% of the world’s cocoa harvest.

On plantations where it is cultivated, Criollo is often crossed with Forastero varieties in order to make it more robust. Innumerable different varieties have been created by centuries of cross breeding, making it very difficult to correctly classify them.

Pure Criollo is hardly found anymore. It is mainly still found in Sur del Lago, a farming region in west Venezuela, and on the edges of the Andes. Fine cocoa, therefore, now includes both Criollo and Trinitario varieties, which have been developed by crossing Criollo with Forastero trees. Fine cocoa beans are nowadays classified, similar to wine, according to their place of origin, i.e. where they were cultivated or the location of the plantation.

RITTER SPORT uses fine cocoas from Papua New Guinea, Madagascar, and Ecuador.