BACOLOD CITY – A company is planning to establish a factory that will produce craft chocolates from a rare variety of locally grown cacao plant in Negros Occidental.
Ricardo Dominic Lopez, general manager of CY & Sons Group based in the province, said that they want to put Negros Island on the chocolate map, not just in the Philippines, but also in the world.
The company has recruited Chloe Doutre Roussel, a cacao and chocolate connoisseur from France, to guide them through the process of finding the best potential out of their cacao trees. CY & Sons Group has 35,000 Criollo variety of cacao trees in their 50-hectare farm in Barangay Dos Hermanas, Talisay City, Negros Occidental.
As part of their venture into the chocolate business, the company organized a chocolate tasting event led by Roussel and Steve Devries, a private cacao consultant from Colorado, United States at Cafe Bob’s Lacson here on Thursday, Jan. 26.
Roussel, who has been leading chocolate tastings for more than 25 years and is jury and president of international chocolate awards, shared her insights about chocolates.
Lopez said that his mother Celina Yanson-Lopez was inspired about chocolates after visiting Davao for a chocolate farm tour in 2016. From there, he said that his mother wanted a unique business to stand out from any other businesses.
With the help of Negrense farmer Chris Fabriga, the firm was able to find the Criollo variety in the mountains of the province, Lopez said.
Fabriga, a cacao farmer from Barangay Atipuluan, Bago City, Negros Occidental, is among the four winners in the 2021 Philippine Cacao Quality Award (PCQA) which recognizes superior quality and exceptional flavors of diverse cocoa varieties in the country.
Lopez said they wanted to focus on the post-production side of the business which is one of the most important part in the chocolate business. “If you destroy the fermentation, you destroy everything,” he added.
As part of their long-term goal, Lopez said that they are planning to penetrate the world chocolate market.
Devries said the best plan is to convert the chocolate and sell it to the market rather than have it as a commodity. “The ultimate thing is to have a chocolate factory, maybe in four to five years,” he added.
According to the company, the tasting event allows them to grasp the reputation and potential of the Philippines in the world of specialty cacao and chocolate.
Also, part of their vision is to eventually replicate it through small farmers, encourage the government to support the development of the Criollo beans, and the province will be known for its rare chocolates, and makers from all over the world will be interested to taste their very own Criollo.
The Provincial Environment and Management Office (PEMO) and Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPA) are currently implementing cacao growing programs for farmers and upland communities in the province.