MANILA, Philippines — Filipino chocolate takes the global stage, as Davao-born chocolatier Malagos Chocolate and award-winning, bean-to-bar brand Auro Chocolate are named among the 100 Best Chocolates in the World by international food database Taste Atlas.
Malagos’ 85% Dark Chocolate and Auro’s 42% Milk Hojicha placed 19th and 71st, respectively, on the online travel guide’s list, with both chocolates gaining a 5-star rating.
America’s Amano Chocolate topped this year’s ranking, with its Raspberry Rose variant impressing critics for its “rich taste of premium dark chocolate with the bright and fruity flavors of raspberries, complemented by delicate floral notes of rose.”
According to the international food guide, Auro’s 42% Milk Hojicha bar is a “sophisticated blend that combines the rich flavors of roasted green tea (Hojicha) with creamy milk chocolate,” giving credit to Auro for making chocolate sustainable.
The tea-infused chocolate bar won gold in the “Milk chocolate bars with an infusion or flavoring” category, with a vote turnout of 92.2%, during the 2023 International Chocolate Awards.
As for the 85% Dark Chocolate bar of Malagos Chocolate, Taste Atlas deems it “distinctly rich and robust” for its high cacao content. The website also praises its use of chocolate beans from Malagos farms in Davao, highlighting Malagos Chocolate’s direct-to-farm approach in ensuring the “purity and traceability” of its chocolate products.
Auro Chocolate is a Filipino chocolate production company founded in 2015 by Mark Ocampo and Kelly Go.
The company works directly with cacao farmers, particularly in Saloy, Davao City, in order to produce organic and sustainable chocolate and distribute nationwide.
Malagos Chocolate is a Filipino tree-to-bar chocolate company also based in Davao.
Established in 2012 by the Puentespina family, the company prides itself on providing its own cacao beans from its Malagos farms and other partner companies across the Mindanao region. — Juliana Chloe Gonzales/Rappler.com
Juliana Chloe Gonzales is a Rappler intern studying AB Communication Arts at De La Salle University.