Davao cacao farmers to benefit from London award for Malagos chocolate

Cacao farmers in Davao City also stand to benefit from the international recognition given last April to a Philippine-made chocolate product.

Davao-based chocolate manufacturer Charita Puentespina said the farmers will now have a market for their product, GMA Davao reported Thursday.

"Definitely yung mga farmers natin na nagtanim ng cacao will have a market of their product. Yung mga wet beans na binibili namin, yung farmers, mga seedling... Marami ang maengganyo to plant more kasi sigurado sila sa market," Puentespina said.

The Malagos Premium 100% Unsweetened Chocolate got the bronze medal award from the London Academy of Chocolate in the Best Unflavored Drinking Chocolate category last April.

Puentespina said they did not expect to win an award, as their product was one of more than 500 entries from various countries.

The Puentespina family started making premium, single-origin cocoa liquor in 2012, rehabilitating their 24-hectare lot in Calinan in Davao City and planting cacao beans there.

Due to the upgraded facilities and a unique procedure of making the chocolate, the product has a distinct taste.

"Yung processing natin is done with... precision machines na galing sa Germany. Hindi lang yun mga local na mga grinder or mga… meron pang ibang proseso na itinuro sa amin ng aming consultant," Puentespina said.

With the award the product got, the Puentespina family expects the cacao farmers and the industry to progress. — Joel Locsin/LBG, GMA News