There are many types of cacao, but the most widely grown species for large-scale chocolate production are only three types, namely :

The Criollo type, which consists of Central American Criollo and South American Criollo. This type produces very good quality cocoa beans and is known as noble cocoa. This type of cocoa is much needed by factories as an ingredient in the manufacture of high quality chocolate products. Nowadays, noble cacao is widely cultivated due to its high production and fast generative phase.

Forastero is widely cultivated in many countries and produces medium-quality chocolate or bulk cacao, also known as ordinary cacao. Forastero is often referred to as lindak cocoa. It has better vegetative growth and is relatively more resistant to pests and diseases than noble cacao. The endosperm is dark purple in color and round to flat, the fermentation process is longer and the taste is more bitter than noble cacao.

The Trinitario type is a natural mixture or hybrid of the Criollo and Forastero types, making it very heterogeneous. Trinitario cocoa produces beans that are fine flavor cacao and some are bulk cacao. Trinitario types include Djati Runggo (DR) hybride and Uppertimazone Hybride (lindak cocoa). This cocoa has the advantages of fast growth, fruiting after two years of age, harvesting throughout the year, resistance to VSD (Vascular Streak Dieback) disease and easy agronomic aspects.