Davao-made Malagos chocolate wins world award in Germany
The product is cited as one of the ‘best dark drinking chocolates’ in the world
This is the second international award received by the product
Malagos chocolate, a premium chocolate produced in Davao, was recently awarded with silver medal at the World Drinking Chocolate Competition held in Germany as one of the world’s best dark drinking chocolates.
The award for Malagos Chocolate’s single-origin 65 percent dark chocolate is the second award after its 100 percent unsweetened chocolate bagged the bronze medal for Best Unflavored Drinking Chocolate during the 2015 Academy of Chocolate Awards in London last April.
A feature article written by Alixandra Caole Vila on Philstar disclosed that judges picked in public view the winners of the International Chocolate Awards 2015 during the Schokolade Gourmet Festival held in Hannover, Germany from Sept. 11 to 13, based on samples prepared by the award body’s chefs using recipes submitted by the entrants.
The festival in Hannover was the first full World Drinking Chocolate Competition to be organized by the International Chocolate Awards which was launched last year.
According to the report, Malagos single-origin chocolates are produced at the Puentespina Cacao Farm, which is operated by Rex Puentespina and his mother Charita.
Since 2012, the mother-and-son tandem have been working with more than 40 small farmers in Calinan, Davao City and used cacao beans, specifically the Trinitario clones, which is a cross between the Criollo and Forastero varieties, harvested from trees growing in the foothills of Mount Talomo.
The Malagos entry, which won in the dark drinking chocolate (made with milk) category, shared the silver award with three entries from the UK and one from Chile while a US entry bagged the gold.
The International Chocolate Awards is an independent competition which aims to discover and highlight excellence in making fine chocolate and support cacao farmers, as well.
For this year, judges included chocolate experts and buyers, pastry chefs, food professionals, and food journalists. They are chaired by globally respected wine expert Charles Metcalfe.
The competition reportedly featured over 500 products from different parts of the world as among the entries.