Is it cacao, chocolate or cocoa?

Do you know the difference between and among these terms? Cacao is the fruit, cocoa is the product and chocolate could be a mix of cocoa butter, milk and other ingredients. Often used interchangeably, it is good to know where chocolates come from and why cocoa is the drink, but cacao is the plant.

I have always been a fan of local chocolate, especially since we co-wrote a book entitled “Cacao: Bean to Bar” sometime 2013. At the time I was working with the cacao scientist Josephine Ramos who accompanied me to two important places in San Francisco: Guittard Chocolate factory and Ghirardelli Chocolate factory in Fisherman’s Wharf. We would swoon over the equipment both places had, and dreamed that someday we could find these in the Philippines. Back then, we only had grinding stones for cacao and artisanal tablea done manually. Tablea is the term for chocolate “tablets” made by mixing ground cacao nibs, or the roasted cacao bean, sometimes with granulated sugar, to produce these hardened chocolate pieces you can cook in hot water or hot milk, often with different consistencies, sometimes watery, sometimes bitter. Back in the 60s, we had tablets branded Antonio Pueo, which produced a semi-sweet mix, unless you put a lot of sugar and milk. In any case, hot chocolate came in this form or in instant chocolate drink mixes imported from the USA.

I was pleasantly surprised to visit the Malagos Chocolate Museum just recently, where they now have a similar production line, albeit much smaller than Guittard and Ghirardelli, but professional just the same. But before making our own chocolate molds, we took a short tour to the cacao farm and the processing area with no less than the chocolate master, Rex Puentespina. Rex and his mother Charita Puentespina have been growing cacao in Davao for many decades now, and have made many improvements in processing the bean. Finally, this cacao goes through conching and tempering to make them into beautiful chocolate bars with different concentrations such as 45 percent, 72 percent and 80 percent pure chocolate. Health aficionados believe that the higher the number, the better it is to consume. A bar that is 45 percent would have more milk, sugar and other ingredients in the balance 55 percent. Dark chocolate, usually 72 percent and higher, is an acquired taste but is the healthier version of what otherwise would be considered candy and not chocolate.

Rex led us into the farm and to the processing area where you can learn more about genetics and the different varieties of cacao. He showed us how producing a good hybrid variety is the key to consistent flavor of not just Malagos but Philippine chocolates. Though we are enamored by the heirloom variety called Criollo, Rex’s experience is that it is a challenge to just grow one variety. The others are Forastero and Trinitario varieties, the latter dominating most of the cacao we produce.

The morning started with our seeing many cacao trees, some with little cacao pods starting to sprout, each pod now wrapped in biodegradable plastic to keep the bugs away. What a tedious job it is to grow cacao and then wait for its harvest twice a year, and take each fruit through an even longer process of fermentation, drying and finally roasting. Once roasted, the beans are ground and then mixed with different amounts of sweeteners, depending on the ratio of cacao you desire for the final product. 

Rex started to open different colored fruits or pods (running it on a blade sandwiched between two wooden pieces on a table) and with a slight twist the cacao covering separates, exposing the mucilage – a white sticky substance covering each bean. An underripe pod is very white, while an overripe pod has reduced mucilage. Somewhere in between is the sweet spot of ripeness. He also explained the different varieties such as PF-16 or the registered Puentespina 16, a Criollo heirloom variety, and a few others which borrow their characteristics from other cultivars from Africa and Meso America. 

Rex allowed us to taste each opened pod and describe the flavor we experience. What a treat to taste the fruit and imagine how this can result in the chocolate drink and chocolate bars we are most familiar with. 

While they have mostly PF-16 in their farm which is close by, Rex says they also buy from farmers who bring their produce to Malagos, but they note which farms or farmers have good practices resulting in better flavor profiles. Malagos is also developing a bigger area in the Carmen district as demand for cacao has continuously risen year on year. 

Malagos started with just percentages of cacao ranging from 44 percent to 72 percent when we first sold them at ECHOstore about 18 years ago. They also have unsweetened chocolate, baking chocolate as well as cacao nibs. Back home, I can only process our pods into nibs and I sprinkle them on my yogurt for a genuine farm to table experience. I tried grinding them to make tablea and succeeded in making a drink enough for home consumption but not for retail sale. 

After showing us the process of grading the beans, Rex showed us the way to the Chocolate Museum he and his family built. This interactive experience is a treat for chocolate lovers who want to know where their favorite crop, drink or bar comes from. 

More than just selling chocolates (of varying percentages) and dragees (those little munchies you pop into your mouth mindlessly) filled with cranberry or raisins, Malagos also has a chocolate making experience you should not miss. We were given molds that you fill with liquid chocolate and you get to add salt, pepper, marshmallows, nuts to make your own mix of a chocolate box about 200 grams in weight to take home.

This really is a bean-to-bar experience and makes me want to write a sequel to our cacao book. Today, when you pick up a chocolate bar, it is worth noting the process, the purity and maybe even the variety of cacao you enjoy. Check the ingredient list where the first word must be cacao and not sugar.