Cocoa bean plantations

All of the world's Chocolate begins with only three different varieties of cocoa beans: Criollo, Forastero. and Trinitario. Where a cocoaproducing country is located relative to the equator dictates what type of bean will grow in that climate. Most of the modern cocoa plantations cultivate the Forastero bean. which accounts for approximately 70 percent of the worldwide production. These plantations can be found on the continent of Africa - in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Costa Rica; and in the Dominican Republic. The Criollo bean, which accounts for only about 10 percent of worldwide production, can also be found in Colombia and Venezuela, as well as in Mexico, Nicaragua, and halfway around the world in Madagascar. The Trinitario bean, native to Trinidad and a hybrid of the Forastero and Criollo, makes up the difference in production and is grown in many of the same countries as the Criollo.