Christopher “Chris” Fadriga of Bago City put Negros Occidental in the world chocolate map when his cacao beans was selected as one the world’s best in the 2021 Edition of the Best 50 Cocoa of Excellence. The other two Filipino cacao farmers who are among the top 50 are Arthur Lagoc and Carlos Barsicula from Davao Region.
There were 235 cacao bean samples from 53 origins around the world which completed the blind evaluation and 50 producers were selected as 2021 Best 50. The awarding ceremony will take place at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris come October/ November but due to pandemic, and some travel restrictions, the celebration will take place virtually.
The Cocoa of Excellence Programme is a global competition to recognize the work of cocoa farmers and celebrate quality, flavor diversity and unique origins. By bringing together leading sensory evaluation experts, Cocoa of Excellence rewards cocoa with superior and unique flavors, while bringing know-how, cocoa evaluation tools, market opportunities and incentives for safeguarding cocoa diversity to farming communities and national organizations globally.
Chris Fadriga is growing the Filipino Aromatico or the heirloom criollo variety of cacao in his farm in Brgy. Atipuluan, Bago City, Negros Occidental. He is also a staunch advocate of the preservation of criollo cacao trees and encourages more farmers to plant criollo. The Spaniards brought Criollo to the Philippines from Mexico through the Manila Galleon trades. Criollo was not widely propagated in recent years because of more high-yielding hybrid varieties of cacao. However, artisanal chocolatiers prefer criollo because it is less bitter, more flavorful and more aromatic than other cacao varieties.
Chris’ advocacy is already starting to bear fruit because more farmers in Negros Occidental are now interested in planting Filipino Aromatico. In order to help the farmers. he has a cacao nursery and training center in his farm in Bago City for those who want to learn how to grow Filipino Aromatico.
Chris recently introduced a small batch of his chocolates in tablea, 60% and 72% dark chocolate and white chocolate bars in the local market. They were sold out in days and more people are still inquiring. It is indeed a testament to the superior quality of his cacao beans.
Chris Fadriga Chocolate is truly one of the best in the world! Congratulations!
Hi, Thanks for sharing this wonderful news about the heirloom criollo cacao. I was wondering, would you know where we could buy these Chris Fadriga chocolates?