Wild Criollo in Belize: A Genetic Relic and a Living Benchmark

Criollo is the root of chocolate culture. It is considered the earliest cacao lineage to be domesticated and used in Mesoamerica. The Olmecs (around 1500–400 BCE) are among the first peoples associated with cacao, with chemical residues of theobromine found in vessels from Olmec and pre-Olmec sites in Mexico, dated as early as 1800–1500 BCE. Additional archaeobotanical evidence, including cacao seeds and residues from Honduras, dates to around 1100 BCE. This confirms that cacao was used more than three millennia ago, although scholars still debate whether this represented organized agricultural cultivation or primarily ritual and domestic consumption. Later, the Maya elevated cacao to a higher level, integrating it into their rituals, medicine, and daily life.

Criollo cacao even served as a form of currency in post-classical Mesoamerica. Its journey to Europe began in the 16th century, when K’iche’ Maya nobles presented cacao to the Spanish court of Prince Philip in 1544. The first documented commercial shipment followed in 1585, arriving in Seville from Veracruz. From that moment, Criollo cacao from Venezuela and Central America defined the earliest European experience of chocolate, initially as a drink reserved for aristocratic circles. During the 17th century, chocolate spread across France, Italy, and beyond, acquiring its association with rarity, refinement, and social prestige. Yet the very traits that made it so prized—fine flavor and pale seeds—also made it vulnerable. Criollo trees are fragile, disease-prone, and low-productive. Over time, they were displaced by more vigorous Forastero populations from the Upper Amazon. Wherever Criollo persisted, it was progressively hybridized. The result is that Criollo, as a pure genetic identity, is today nearly extinct.

In the world’s largest collections of cacao, Criollo barely exists. At the International Cocoa Genebank in Trinidad (ICGT), which conserves over 2,000 recorded varieties, less than 0.25% have been confirmed as genuine Criollo. Even the last documented pure genotype there, Criollo 22, has been lost. Most of what survives under the Criollo label is hybrid material — Trinitario or Forastero lines that were historically misclassified based on visible pod traits rather than genetics. Similar errors have been documented at the IC3 collection at CATIE in Costa Rica, where molecular analyses of historical clonal series (notably the UF group, long associated with fine-flavor traits) revealed Amelonado–Nacional ancestry and hybrid genetic backgrounds in material once treated as “Criollo-type.” In Mexico, studies on local germplasm from the Soconusco region (Chiapas) — some of which is maintained in national research collections such as INIFAP — likewise showed that a substantial portion of trees traditionally considered “Criollo-type” are genetically Trinitario or Amelonado, confirming what earlier population studies had already suggested. For decades, pod shape and color were used as the main criteria for classification, and this reliance on morphology without molecular verification created a legacy of errors that still affects cacao nomenclature today.

Against this global backdrop, the discovery of Belize’s wild Criollo is extraordinary. On the BFREE reserve, a private 1,153-acre rainforest at the foothills of the Maya Mountains, cacao trees grow outside the history of domesticated plantation agriculture. These trees were found thriving in the wild, untouched by centuries of hybridization. Genetic testing confirmed what specialists thought no longer existed: a population of 100% Criollo, later designated HCP #11 by the Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund. This is not cultivated Criollo introgressed with Forastero, nor a fragile fragment preserved in a genebank. It is a relic population, genetically uniform and intact. Molecular analysis reduced numerous recorded varieties to only a handful of distinct genotypes. The very lack of diversity signals purity.

Uniformity here is not weakness; it is survival without contamination.

The scientific weight of this discovery is immense. DNA from Belize Criollo was used in 2011 to sequence the first complete cacao genome. That genome is the reference for every major study today: breeding for disease resistance, mapping of flavor-related compounds, and conservation of genetic diversity. Without it, modern cacao science would lack a stable foundation. Belize Criollo is not only a relic of the past, but also a cornerstone of the future.

It also forces us to dismantle long-held myths.

For over a century, Trinitario has been described as a balanced hybrid - half Criollo, half Forastero - born in Trinidad after the 1727 hurricane destroyed plantations. The story is elegant and endlessly repeated in marketing and literature. But genetic evidence tells another story. The Imperial College Selections (ICS), Trinidad’s foundational collection of Trinitario, are overwhelmingly Forastero. Only four - ICS 11, 40, 87, and 100 - retain more than 10% Criollo ancestry. The rest are almost entirely Forastero.

Trinitario is not half Criollo; it is overwhelmingly Forastero with only a faint Criollo shadow. 

This is not a minor correction: it overturns one of the most influential narratives in cacao history.

The same problem of misrepresentation extends far beyond Trinidad. Varieties such as Pentagona or MXC 67 were listed as Criollo for decades, but molecular analysis revealed them to be Trinitario with partial Criollo ancestry. Even Venezuela’s most celebrated names—Porcelana, Guasare, Chuao, Sur del Lago—carry the Criollo name but exhibit significant Forastero introgression. They produce excellent chocolate, but genetically, they are not pure Criollo (unless confirmed otherwise).

Here lies the crux: Criollo, as a word, has been stripped of science and reduced to marketing language. Packages labeled “Criollo” rarely deliver the genetic reality they promise. Belize exposes this gap by standing as one of the few regions where Criollo is not a myth but a fact.

The ecological context reinforces its importance. The BFREE reserve lies within one of the least disturbed rainforest corridors north of the Amazon. Jaguars, tapirs, howler monkeys, harpy eagles, and scarlet macaws share the same environment. Conserving Belize Criollo means conserving an entire ecosystem. To safeguard this lineage, BFREE has already propagated seedlings into over 25 acres of agroforestry plots. These plantings preserve genetic fidelity while allowing controlled expansion.

From this foundation comes the Wild Criollo 70% single-origin chocolate, created through the partnership of Caputo’s Market, Chocolate Naive, and BFREE. Beans harvested in Belize’s Toledo District are crafted in Lithuania by Domantas Užpalis into a three-ingredient dark chocolate.

This is not a commercial product designed to capitalize on scarcity. Under Caputo’s Preservation Program, 100% of revenue is donated to BFREE, funding ecological research and cultural heritage preservation in Belize.

The road to this chocolate bar has been long. In 2018, BFREE collaborated with Guittard and HCP to produce fewer than 250 bars, shared at the Fine Chocolate Industry Association gathering in San Francisco. It was an act of awareness, not commerce. For years, harvest volumes remained too small to support broader projects. Only after six years of propagation did BFREE reach the scale required. In 2024, two hundred pounds of beans were harvested and shipped to Lithuania. There, Chocolate Naive transformed them into the Wild Criollo 70%. On May 22, 2025, the bar was launched during an online event attended by over 100 participants from across the fine chocolate community. The release was not just another product debut; it was the culmination of decades of conservation, research, and collaboration.

Caputo`s Market Wild Criollo 70% - A product of Chocolate Naive

Placed alongside famous Criollo-associated names, Belize shows its uniqueness. Porcelana and Chuao are legendary for flavor, yet genetically mixed. Sur del Lago is celebrated, yet hybridized. Belize Criollo is different. It is not a hybrid memory but a genetic relic.

The implications are far-reaching. For chocolate makers, the lesson is responsibility: using the word Criollo without official verification is misleading. For breeders, Belize Criollo is a genetic priority because once lost, it cannot be recreated. For consumers, the Wild Criollo 70% offers the rare chance to taste chocolate that is not legend but lineage. For conservationists, it proves that science and agroforestry can protect both biodiversity and cultural heritage.

The Wild Criollo 70% is a benchmark: the survival of a genetic relic, the protection of a forest, and the transformation of chocolate into conservation. It reminds us that fine chocolate is not only about "taste buds" but about securing the biodiversity that sustains it.

Ingredients: pure criollo cocoa mass, organic cane sugar, and cocoa butter.

Aromas: a soft gourmand sweetness of caramelised milk chocolate, layered with warm sweet spices and dried fruits, rounded by creamy nut and tropical pulp accents, and grounded in an earthy overtones of toasted grains, roasted coffee, and dark chocolate.

Tasting Notes

• Caramel

• Milk chocolate

• Spices: cinnamon, nutmeg

• Raisins

• Vanilla bean

• Panela sugar

• Lightly fruity: apple banana (sweet and tangy), breadfruit, cherimoya

• Peeled almonds

• Earthy: amaranth, buckwheat, coffee rub

• Torta caprese aftertaste

Appearance (4/4): Homogeneous, glossy, and uniform.

Snap (1/1): Clean and sharp, indicating excellent tempering.

Tactile Attributes

Fineness (5/5): silky mouthfeel.

Texture (8/8): silky and creamy.

Astringency (5/5): Absent.

Roundness (7/7): engaging and creamy mouthfeel.

Melting Point (4/5)

Flavor Profile and Aftertaste

Primary Cacao Flavor (8/10): balanced and earthy.

Secondary Pleasant Flavors (12/12): defined and well-perceptible.

Secondary Unpleasant Flavors (0/5): None detected.

Overall Aromatic Quality (5/5): complex and full of intense aromas and flavors.

Aftertaste (5/5): Long-lasting and satisfying (up to 12 minutes).

Taste

Sweetness (6/6): Balanced and well-integrated.

Bitterness (6/6): Subtle.

Acidity (6/6): none.

Harmony and Gustatory Pleasure (10/10): Excellent.

Final Sensation (5/5): surprising and complex.

Total Score: 97/100

This score places Naive Wild Criollo Belize 70% Single Origin Chocolate in the “Extremely Excellent” category.

Personal Reflection

This bar has often been described as “milk-like” chocolate: a perception shaped by its mesmerizing tawny brown color, creamy melt, and immediate caramelised sweetness. This description is widespread and superficially accurate, but it stops short. What seems like milk chocolate at first glance is simply the surface impression of something far more intricate.

Approaching it as a professional taster, my goal was to move beyond that first impression and decode its full flavor profile. The primary layer is indeed dominated by caramel, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and raisin. It feels rounded, comforting, familiar. But once the palate adjusts to their intensity, other layers become perceptible. A subtle, tropical fruitiness emerges - apple banana, breadfruit, cherimoya - followed by the clean, nutty undertones of peeled almond. It is a gradual shift, and if you approach it casually, you miss it entirely.

What truly defines this tasting experience is the character no one seems to mention: its earthy background. There is a precise earthy axis running through the profile - amaranth, buckwheat, coffee rubs - that gives tasting experience its weight, cohesion, and complexity. This character anchors the flavors, counterbalances the sweet upper notes, and prevents the chocolate from dissolving into mundanity.

The paradox is striking. What looks and initially tastes like milk chocolate carries the unadulterated matchlessness of pure Criollo — something rarely encountered and even more rarely understood. Calling it “milk-like” is not just inaccurate, but reductive. What appears mellow is, in fact, built on a rare genetic material almost absent from global collections, with less than 0.25% of recorded varieties fitting this category.

This context matters. Many people fixate on its price — 65 dollars for a single bar — as if it were a luxury markup. It is not. Every cent goes directly to BFREE to support long-term conservation and research. Caputo’s does not profit from it. And this is not a marketing product from an unknown maker: it is the result of a collaboration between Caputo’s Market, Chocolate Naive, the Belize Foundation for Research & Environmental Education, and the Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund — organisations that have shaped the modern landscape of fine chocolate and cacao science.

So when people ask if it is “worth it,” my answer is simple:

Yes, every time you can. Not because of its cost, but because of what it represents — a rare and genetically verified Criollo, an exceptionally layered aromatic profile, and a project that protects both biodiversity and cultural heritage.

References

• Belize Foundation for Research & Environmental Education (BFREE). Wild Criollo Cacao Conservation Program.

• Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund (HCP). HCP #11 — Wild Criollo, Belize. 

• Caputo’s Market. Caputo’s Preservation Program: Wild Criollo 70% Chocolate Bar.

• Motilal, L.A., Zhang, D., Umaharan, P., Mischke, S., Mooleedhar, V., & Meinhardt, L.W. (2010). The relic Criollo cacao in Belize — Genetic diversity and structure.

• Vázquez-Ovando, A., et al. (2014). Genetic diversity of cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) from the Soconusco region, Chiapas, Mexico. Tropical and Subtropical Agroecosystems.

• Whitkus, R., et al. (1998). Genetic diversity and geographic differentiation in cacao (Theobroma cacao L.) from Mexico and Central America. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution.

• Henderson, J. S., Joyce, R. A., Hall, G. R., Hurst, W. J., & McGovern, P. E. (2007). Chemical and archaeological evidence for the earliest cacao beverages. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(48), 18937–18940.

• Powis, T. G., Cyphers, A., Gaikwad, N. W., Grivetti, L., & Cheong, K. (2011). Cacao use and the San Lorenzo Olmec. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 108(21), 8595–8600.

• Dillinger, T. L., Barriga, P., Escárcega, S., Jimenez, M., Lowe, D. S., & Grivetti, L. E. (2000). Food of the Gods: Cure for Humanity? A Cultural History of the Medicinal and Ritual Use of Chocolate. Journal of Nutrition, 130(8S), 2057S–2072S.

• ReVista: Harvard Review of Latin America. A Culture of Cacao and Chocolate. Harvard University. Retrieved from https://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/a-culture-of-cacao-and-chocolate/

• History.com Editors. (n.d.). History of Chocolate. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/articles/history-of-chocolate

Photo Credits

All photos courtesy of BFREE (Belize Foundation for Research & Environmental Education)and Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund (HCP).