MALAGOS unsweetened chocolate wins silver once again for the plain hot chocolate category of the coveted Academy of Chocolate Awards 2017 after competing with other chocolate companies in the entire world.
This award is the 5th international award of Malagos Chocolate in fine chocolate competition. Previous awards include Academy of Chocolate (Bronze for 2015; Silver for 2016), International Chcolate (Silver for 2015); and Great Taste (2-star awardee).
Malagos Agri-Ventures Corporation sales and marketing Head Rex Victor Puentespina told SunStar Davao in a phone interview that their company owes the award to the cacao farmers who toiled hard in order to get a good quality of cacao beans fit to be hailed as one of the best Hot Chocolate globally.
“We attribute this to the effort and dedication of the cacao farmers in Davao City. The way these are prepared is a huge factor why we won. We give huge importance to the preparation of the beans. Also of course it is also partly because of the way the beans were fermented,” said Puentespina.
He added, aside from the thorough fermentation and drying process that their cacao beans went through, the genetics and the cacao variety that they used is also a winning factor, as much as the perfect climate of Davao City in growing cacao trees.
Puentespina also shared that the way they ripen the cacao fruits naturally in the trees and not harvesting them during pre-ripening stage is also a huge factor for producing quality cacao beans. He also said that their storage is thoroughly cleaned without unnecessary odors as these would greatly affect the taste of the product.
Sharing the same silver spot for the plain hot chocolate category is Akesson’s Organic (Akesson’s Choc Drops Brazil 75 percent Cocoa Organic and Akesson’s Choc Drops Madagascar 100 percent Cocoa Organic) and The Chocolate Quarter (Tetteh Drinking Chocolate).
There are no gold winners in the category this year.
Bronze winners were Co Couture (Co Couture Organic Hot Chocolate Mix 70 percent and 85 percent), Creo Chocolate (Midnight Truffle), Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate (Dick Taylor Chocolate Belize Drinking Chocolate), Idilio Origins (Idilio, Drinking Chocolate, Carenero Urrutia), and Taste Artisan Chocolate (Palo Santo 75 percent drinking chocolate).
Puentespina said they are waiting for the result of another category that they participated in, the Tree to Bar Category (85 percent, 72 percent, and 65 percent) that is scheduled to be released within this week.