What are the main producing areas of cacao beans?

Cacao beans are the main ingredient of chocolate, and demand for chocolate is currently increasing, so more and more people are growing cacao beans. So what are the producing areas of cacao beans?

1. Cacao bean producing areas

The world's main cacao bean producing areas lie on both sides of the equator, that is, within 20 degrees north and south latitude, with within 10 degrees being more suitable. They are relatively concentrated in West Africa, with Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon having the highest yields. Next they are distributed in Latin America, mainly Brazil, Ecuador and Mexico. In recent years cacao production in Asia has increased rapidly, with Malaysia and Indonesia having the largest yields.

2. Cacao bean varieties

1. Criollo, a fine grade among cacaos, with a unique aroma, but its yield is scarce; it is equivalent to arabica coffee beans among coffee beans, accounting for only 5% of global production; it mainly grows in Venezuela, the Caribbean, Madagascar, Java and other places.

2. Forastero, with the highest yield, accounting for about 80% of global production; its smell is pungent, bitter and sour, equivalent to robusta among coffee beans, and it is mainly used to produce ordinary mass-market chocolate; the cacao beans produced in West Africa belong to this type, and it is also widely planted in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil and other places. This kind of bean needs intense roasting to make up for its insufficient flavor, and it is precisely for this reason that most dark chocolate carries a burnt aroma.

3. Trinitario, a hybrid variety of the above two, named because it was developed on the island of Trinidad; it combines the advantages of the first two kinds of cacao beans, accounts for about 15% of production, and its producing areas are distributed the same as Criollo. Like Criollo, it is regarded as a treasure among cacaos and is used to produce high-quality chocolate, because only these two kinds of beans can provide the acidity, balance and complexity of high-quality chocolate.

Cacao beans from different regions differ slightly in the quality and taste they produce; some carry a fruity aroma, and some carry a burnt aroma.