Another celebration of hard work in the name of Philippine chocolate!
We are truly grateful & deeply honored to receive the Heirloom Cacao Designation from the Heirloom Cacao Preservation (HCP) Fund to start the new year! We’re very proud to bring this honor to our country. First in & for the Philippines!
To become designated ’heirloom cacao’ is an incredibly high standard to meet.
Our very own cacao farm – Puentespina Farm is now designated as HEIRLOOM producers of quality & flavor cacao beans at origin by the Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund in partnership with the Fine Chocolate Industry Association (FCIA) & US Dept of Agriculture (USDA)! Mabuhay!
The announcement was made during the FCIA Elevate Chocolate Event – Winter 2019 in San Francisco last January 12, 2019.
“We are elated to be part of this very small group of farmers who have been given this designation as Heirloom Cacao. We are only the 16th to be given this honor, and the first in the Philippines,” said Charita Puentespina, proud farmer & founder of Puentespina Farms and Malagos Chocolate.
Puentespina Farms’ entry was designated the 16th heirloom cacao in the world by a super majority of the HCP’s tasting panel.
Heirloom cacao is considered the diamonds of cacao. They are the foundation of great chocolate. The trees and beans are considered heirloom variety because of a combination of their historic, cultural, botanical, geographical and flavor value.
Here’s the link https://hcpcacao.org for more information on HCP and its methodology.
This is the 2nd international recognition awarded to our cacao farm. In October 2017, the beans from Puentespina Farm were recognized as one of the ‘BEST 50 CACAO BEAN SAMPLES’ in the world by the Cocoa Excellence Programme held in France. Our beans were selected out of the total 166 cacao beans samples received from 40 countries that year.
To date, our company already garnered a total of 52 international accolades (including two for our Puentespina Farm) from prestigious fine chocolate competitions such as the Academy of Chocolate, Great Taste, and International Chocolate Awards .
A rising tide lifts all boats. We want the cacao farmers to realize the earning potential of cacao, and how they can raise their game so that they, too, can produce world-class chocolates. When we raise the awareness of how valuable our cacao is, we are able to uplift the lives of farmers and encourage the growth of an entire industry.
Thank you for the continued support! Daghang salamat!