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

No. 023 · heirloom

Chocolate Stripes

Chocolate Stripes is an indeterminate heirloom beefsteak with deep mahogany red with lime to deep green stripes fruit. It ripens in about 80 days.

Typebeefsteak
Habitindeterminate
Days to maturity80
Fruit size7 to 16 oz
Colordeep mahogany red with lime to deep green stripes
Difficultymoderate

Flavor

Described as complex, sweet and aromatic with a slight acidity and a tangy, earthy note that wins taste tests. This is the recurring catalog and grower description, not a measured claim.

Origin

Bred by American grower John Siegel in the early 2000s by crossing Shimmeig Creg with a pink beefsteak; it entered the Seed Savers Exchange around 2006 to 2007 through Al Anderson and later won a best tasting award at TomatoFest.

What it does well

  • Large, richly colored striped beefsteak fruit
  • Complex sweet flavor that wins taste tests
  • Produces long into late summer

Where it frustrates

  • Large beefsteak fruit needs strong support and pruning
  • Dark striping makes ripeness hard to judge

Like Chocolate Stripes, but...

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

Cherokee Purplebut striped brown red rather than a solid dusky purpleBlack Krimbut larger and green striped rather than uniformly dark shouldered

Where to buy seed

Sources