Illustration of Cherokee Chocolate tomato
Illustration based on known variety traits. Appearance varies by growing conditions.

No. 083 · open-pollinated

Cherokee Chocolate

Cherokee Chocolate is an indeterminate open-pollinated beefsteak with brick brown to mahogany fruit. It ripens in about 80 days.

Typebeefsteak
Habitindeterminate
Days to maturity80
Fruit size8 to 12 oz
Colorbrick brown to mahogany
Difficultymoderate

Flavor

Described as rich and sweet, very close to Cherokee Purple with a slightly cleaner finish. This is the recurring catalog and grower description, not a measured claim.

Origin

A brown-fruited color sport of Cherokee Purple, observed and stabilized by Craig LeHoullier in the mid-1990s.

What it does well

  • Rich, well-balanced dark flavor
  • Large, attractive mahogany fruit
  • Productive and reliable

Where it frustrates

  • Dark skin makes ripeness hard to judge
  • Indeterminate vines need staking
  • Can crack in wet spells

Like Cherokee Chocolate, but...

Sold out, or after a change? The closest alternatives, and how they differ.

Cherokee Purplebut a brown-skinned color sport of itCherokee Greenbut brown rather than green when ripe

Where to buy seed

Sources