This is a classification of refined, aromatic cocoa varieties. They are very rare and only account for about 7% of the world's cocoa bean production. The International Cocoa Association (ICCO) describes these varieties as cocoa with a delicious aroma and flavor. Chocolate from these elite varieties is for true connoisseurs and gourmets!

Nothing can have a greater impact on the taste of chocolate than the quality of the cocoa used. In world trade, a distinction is made between consumer grades, which are used by large manufacturers, and we see them on store shelves, and noble varieties of cocoa beans, which are purchased by chocolatiers for the production of artisan chocolate.

The difference lies in the quality: Forastero cocoa beans belong to the consumer variety, Criollo, Trinitario and Arriba National cocoa beans belong to the noble varieties Fino de Aroma.

If the packaging of chocolate does not indicate which variety of cocoa beans, there is no region of cultivation, then it should be assumed that the chocolate is made from cheap, consumer varieties.