MANILA, Philippines – Auro Chocolate has added another prestigious international award to its roster! The local bean-to-bar chocolatier and partner Saloy Organic Farmers Association (SOFA) wins Silver at 2023’s Cacao of Excellence Awards (CaEx) for the APAC region.

Auro’s and SOFA’s Philippine origin Saloy Chocolate was awarded at Chocoa in Amsterdam, making this the second time for the brand to be recognized as one of the “Best Cacao Beans in the World.” The first time was in 2022.

In December, SOFA – represented by Judith Gabasa – was the only Philippine representative for the Top 50 Best Cacao Producers, among 222 global entries from 52 origins. SOFA, based in Saloy, Calinan District, Davao City, Davao del Sur, has worked with Auro since 2015, supplying its cacao beans exclusively to the Filipino brand. Under Auro Chocolate’s Organic Conversion Program (OCP) initiated in 2021, SOFA’s cacao farmers work toward organic and sustainable agriculture.

Auro and SOFA have won multiple awards from across the globe, the region, and in the country. SOFA was honored at the Philippine Cacao Quality Awards in 2022 as one of the “top producers of quality cacao.” Auro has also won Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards from the Academy of Chocolate from 2018 to 2022 for their different bars, as well as Silver and Gold from the International Chocolate Awards Asia-Pacific in 2019 and 2020, respectively. At the World Edition, Auro won Silver from 2020 to 2021.

Auro was recognized at the Great Taste Awards in 2018, 2020, and 2021, and named among the Top 20 Best Cacao Beans in 2019 by the Cacao of Excellence awards body.

All we do is win, win, win

For the past decade, Filipino chocolate has been getting the spotlight it deserves. Did you know that the Philippines was the first Southeast Asian country to grow cacao trees? The Philippines is proudly home to several other local bean-to-bar chocolate brands, thanks to our many cacao farms and farmers.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the Philippines produced 9,341 MT of cacao beans in 2020, with the Davao region as the top producer, followed by Central Luzon, and Zamboanga Peninsula.

Well-known tree-to-bar, single-origin brand from Mt. Talomo, Barangay Baguio District, Davao City is Malagos Chocolate, with 56 international awards to date since its commercial launch in 2013. By “putting the Philippines on the chocolate map of the world,” Malagos’ Puentespina Cacao Farm placed #16 in the Heirloom Cacao Designation in 2019 and the Best 50 Beans In the World in 2017 by the Cocoa Excellence Programme.

Malagos Chocolate’s Premium Unsweetened Chocolate recently won at this year’s International Chocolate Awards; it was also the Drinking Chocolate category where the same product won the brand its first international award back in 2015.

For its 100% pure unsweetened chocolate and various dark chocolate bars at different percentages and flavors, Malagos has won accolades from the International Chocolate Awards and Great Taste Awards from 2015 to 2020. In 2021, the Malagos Porter – a chocolate craft beer – won two stars at Great Taste.

Theo & Philo Artisan Chocolates uses sugar from Bacolod and sources its cacao beans from Davao, where the artisan brand said its “fertile land and temperate climates produce some of the best cacaos in the region.” Since cacao beans can only grow in regions that are within 20 degrees of the equator, this makes the Philippines “the perfect place to grow them and this is rooted in the country’s agricultural heritage,” Theo & Philo said.

The quirky brand is known for its handcrafted “fearless flavors,” which have garnered recognition from the London Academy of Chocolates and the International Chocolate Awards. Such flavors include the Dark Chocolate with green mango and salt or calamansi, and the Milk Chocolate with pili nut and pinipig; turon; adobo; and labuyo.

Davao City’s MS3 Chocolates from the Bunawan District was established in 2018 and has been supporting the local cacao industry farmers since then. At the 11th Academy of Chocolate Awards in the UK, MS3 won Bronze for its Dark Chocolate with cashew and coffee granules and 100% dark drinking chocolate, and Silver for its flavored drinking chocolate with cashew and coffee granules.

During the same 2019 ceremony, Bohol’s family-owned Dalareich Food Products received the Gold Award for its 100% Unsweetened Drinking Chocolate. The brand’s outpost – the Dalareich Chocolate House – is a humble tourist spot in Tagbiliran City, Bohol where guests can watch the production process and buy Dalareich’s chocolate products, like coated cacao nibs, unsweetened chocolate, and dried fruits coated in dark chocolate.

Which other local chocolate brands are your favorites? – Rappler.com