5 Tropical Avocado Varieties You’ve Never Heard Of—But Should

You’ve scooped them with chips; you’ve piled them on toast; but you’ve never seen them quite like this.

Avocados might be one of the most popular fruits in the world, supplying Americans with more than 2.6 million pounds’ worth of green gold in 2020 alone. (Our biggest avocado indulgence? Super Bowl Sunday, which accounted for nearly 69 million pounds – presumably in guacamole form!)

Yet, despite starring as everyone’s favorite oblong object of affection, avocados have managed to maintain their mysterious side – at least, when it comes to these five exotic varieties.

Choquette Avocados

The best types of love stories have unexpected origins.

Such is the case with the parents of the Choquette, which came from opposite sides of the globe, with one parent being a Guatemalan avocado and the other a fruit hailing from the West Indies. But avocado aficionados are still celebrating that union today. 

The Choquette avocado is especially noted for its size, weighing in at a hefty 30-40 ounces. That’s about 2 pounds! (Compare that to other avocados that barely tip the scales at 6 oz.)

But if its size make other avocados green with envy, the Choquette wouldn’t notice. The cultivar is also noteworthy for its lovely green shade—along with its smoother-than-normal skin.

Naturally, such a beautiful specimen found its way to Florida, where the varietal is most commonly grown today.

Hall Avocados 

A close relative of the exotic Choquette, the more-plainly-named Hall avocado is also mainly grown in Florida, and shares its cousin’s pretty green skin, though few other attributes.

Indeed, Hall avocados aren’t nearly as big, and are lumpier in shape than Choquette’s smooth oval. But they more than make up for it in the quality of their flesh, which registers as much thicker, drier, and nuttier than the Choquette’s. (Primarily made up of water weight, the Choquette has been said to “bleed lime green” when cut into.) 

Add to all that a touch of fruity taste, and you have yourself a truly unique avocado.

Bernecker Avocados

A rare avocado of the West Indian genus, this cultivar is particularly distinctive for its overt pear shape, which can stretch as long as 6 inches.

But the Bernecker’s good looks don’t stop there. This rare breed is also noteworthy for exceptionally smooth skin that registers as perfectly green on the spectrum. And the beauty doesn’t stop on the outside.

Inside these perfectly-shaped wonders is one of the best flesh-to-seed ratios in the world of avocados. And to top it all off, Berneckers are known for the excellent texture of their flesh, which rides the line between creamy and chewy.

Still, it’s difficult to find this varietal very far outside of Florida.

Oro-Negro Avocados

Translating from the Spanish for “black gold,” these varietals truly are a treasure.

Oro-Negros are particularly noted for their “perfect” flesh texture and taste, which has been described as creamy, buttery, and almost too spreadable. The melt-in-your-mouth texture is accompanied by a lovely light green color pallet, though that’s only on the inside.

Outside, the Oro-Negro truly resembles its namesake, ripening to an almost midnight black. 

And just like gold, this treat is both highly coveted—and incredibly scare. Though described by some as “one of the best varieties of avocado known to man,” this cultivar is scarcely seen outside its home state of Florida.

Monroe Avocados 

Unfortunately, this type of avocado has very little in common with its movie star namesake, perhaps least of which being its looks.

Another farmer’s market heavy hitter, this cultivar regularly weighs in around 2 pounds. And while the Monroe rocks the same pretty green outside as its giant Choquette cousin, the Monroe has bumpier, lumpier skin, which is prone to dark spots and bruises. 

Still, on the inside, the Floridian-grown cultivar reveals a light green flesh, which has a much milder flavor than many other avocados, making it the perfect blank canvass to throw on any number of flavors. 

And while it likely won’t star in any Hollywood hits, there’s no doubt the Monroe—or any other avocado on this list—is packed with star power.