Our Cocoa Varieties

A fundamental distinction is made between consumer and fine flavor cocoa:

Consumer cocoa is cocoa with a robust flavor. It accounts for the largest share (90-95%) of total global cocoa production and is farmed mainly in West Africa.

The remaining 5-10% of worldwide cocoa harvests are fine flavor cocoa. Fine flavor cocoa is high-quality cocoa with a nuanced, fine aroma. It is mainly farmed in Latin America and the Caribbean. We use special bean blends in our recipes. The blends are well-guarded secrets and give our chocolates an exquisite flavor. Nevertheless, we’ll tell you this much: Around one-third of all cocoa beans processed by Lindt & Sprüngli are fine flavor cocoa beans.

The most important examples are:

Forastero 90-95% of the world’s cocoa harvest is consumer cocoa. Mainly cultivated in West Africa.

Trinitario & Criollo 5-10% of the world’s cocoa harvest is fine flavor cocoa. It is cultivated mainly in Latin America and the Caribbean. These types are famous for their fine aromas.