Why We Need to Plant Heirloom (Criollo)?
In order to differentiate between the native varieties of cacao and the new varieties, the native cacao was called Criollo (native), while the new cocoa was called Forastero (foreign), and Trinitario (from Trinidad). The terms continue to be used in trade until today, even though their meanings have shifted slightly over time.
Criollo
Criollo cacao typically has red or yellow pods, some being green or white (as in the case of Porcelana). The pods have bumpy or warty skin with pointed tips.
The beans, on the other hand, vary from light purple to white in color, and they are plump and full. In general, the beans from criollo cacao are considered to have a finer flavor than that of other varieties of cacao.
The criollo trees are not very disease-resistant, and hence they are hard for farmers to grow and keep healthy.
Typically when chocolate is made from the criollo beans, the chocolate is not overly rich, though the resulting chocolate will have a complex flavor that is often reminiscent of various fruits and spices. Criollo beans are therefore considered to be “flavor beans” because of their heightened flavor characteristics.
In Spanish, Criollo means 'of local origin'. This is a very high quality cocoa bean and is very aromatic and lacks bitterness. The Criollo is used in luxury chocolate but rarely alone since it is very scarce and expensive. Becoming less and less available. Found in Venezuela, Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Columbia, Samoan Islands, Sri Lanka and Madagascar. Represents less than 3% of the world's cocoa production. The Valrhona Single Origin Palmira bar is a great example of the Criollo bean. Read more: http://www.amanochocolate.com/blog/theobroma-cacao-the-tree-of-life-varieties-of-cacao/
Philippines is very lucky to have a very limited supply of this variety as of today.
During the Bohol Cacao Summit days back, one of the critical issues that was discussed was what happens 5 and 10 years hence?
It became critically obvious that today's agenda, that of being able to plant 1 million trees all over, was meant to address the shortage of cacao all over, both domestically and internationally.
It was a knee-jerk reaction both from government and the private sector, knowing the huge growing demand of chocolates abroad, to create programs to quickly address the planting issue, create massive plantations and farms, and develop our infantile cacao industry to meet that world demand.
But at that juncture, we stopped and decided to ask the chocolatiers, at least those that were in the locality of Bohol. Strangely enough, Bohol has thriving local chocolatiers that other regions pine for, and they are mostly local-bred.
One, like the Bohol Cacao Princess consumes about 6 metric tons of cacao monthly. Add all others, the demand in Bohol alone stirs up a hornets' nest for the development of the cacao industry and the chocolate business making careers of many.
It turns out not all of the cacao are uniformly needed. Some varieties are planted because they produce volumes more than others.
There are the different criollo growing in native environments, wild and unsustained, but quickly being recognized for their aroma and other attractive qualities that other varieties do not have. Foreign buyers are already asking for sustained and continuing deliveries of such, even pushing the rejection of South American and African varieties that we should not be planting at this juncture.
The consensus quickly rising is that we should strive for DIFFERENCE, COMPETITIVE, ADVANTAGES and GREATER QUALITY rather than mere QUANTITIES.
Our nascient cacao industry can be today classified as INFANTILE. That is because we havent had one that can classify as MATURE, and we are beginning to copy the directions that others have had and are doing.
But we too recognize that the Developed World, with their MATURE CHOCOLATE INDUSTRIES, DO NOT PRODUCE THE CACAO AND MERELY IMPORT THEM FROM AROUND THE WORLD.
If the Philippines can therefore develop its own chocolate industry, according to its own assessment and directions, rather than merely copying the other countries' own, we can develop our own CHOCOLATE TRAFFIC with volumes that can sustain our own national demand.
Producing for EXPORTS is a sound idea, specially when there is no real MATURE CHOCOLATE INDUSTRY to speak of in the country.
One needs the Cash Flow that exports can generate. But heeding only to what the exclusive foreign buyers dictate us to plant, means we become dependent only on those who have their own agenda, and produces only what they want.
Volumes are necessary, but when one realizes that chocolatiers worldwide need the criollos too more specially to blend and produce distinctive quality aroma and tastes and other special qualities that they are known for, clearly the following issues come up:
1. DISTINCTIVE TASTES, AROMA AND OTHER QUALITIES are the results of DISTINCTIVE CACAO PODS GROWN in ONE SOURCE/ORIGIN;
2. While the world produces some varieties for volumes to meet the World Chocolatiers demands for volumes, the need for special distinctive qualities that can come only from tropical countries such as the Philippines, must be exploited to the hilt, as a marketing and pricing advantage;
3. Selling only to those few world and international cacao traders may mean meeting only their agenda. Planting what they want us to do, means our volumes will be stuck into those varieties only, and we become susceptible to the vagaries of supply and demand, and consequently PRICING;
4. Following the agenda of those exclusive World Cacao Traders may stunt our own chocolate industry growth, for meeting their needs and planting for years to do so, means we are not ready for our own chocolate development; That issue is for the advantage of the Western World's Mature Chocolate industry, allowing us to be their mere suppliers of cheap cacao beans, while they sell back to us manufactured chocolates in very high prices, is precisely a direction that we may be falling into;
5. Keeping our criollo as distinctive and selective as possible may be a better planting strategy then. It will allow us to create Distinct Competitive Advantages as a country, in the world of chocolates. WE should aspire to have all types of varieties then, but controlling the plantings such that we do not allow cross pollinations of our unique local varieties, while growing much of the world's needed volumes of the regular ones. PDS planting unique varieties in nondescript island settings, far away from possibility of cross pollination with the regular varieties should be pursued heavily and sustainably, and in the future these would be producing the highest prices for their unique qualities;
6. A college of local chocolatiers, including those just beginning to learn the art of chocolate making, should be organized quickly. The aim is to be able to identify, put together, and develop management capabilities to meet the needs of our own local chocolatiers, specially now knowing that BLENDING is a major part of chocolate-making. We need to assess what it is they want, need and will find having the greatest possibilities for future Philippine Chocolate Branding development, and aim for having our own distinctive world standards under PHILIPPINE DEVELOPMENT; Having a PHILIPPINE CHOCOLATE STANDARD is one of the keys that we need to open, so that the international doors for greater purchases and acknowledgement of our own chocolate capabilities, can become a reality;
7. The Academe of the Philippines, should be on the forefront of these developments. While PDS aims to plant more and more to the tune of 1 million trees per year, we recognize that yearly this would be doubling up the harvests, creating more cacao volumes, and if we must have a stronger local demand, CONSUMER EDUCATION as well as DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL CHOCOLATIERS' capabilities and capacities should be fostered strongly; Tying up with various Universities with Culinary Arts specialty, for chocolate specialization, will be a boost for the budding chocolate industry of the Philippines; As we do so, we continue to create greater local demands and volumes, until we reach the point where EXPORT OF OUR CACAO BEANS is no longer necessary just for the CASH FLOW, but that it has become secondary to meeting our own growing local demands for the crop. That will spell a boon for our own cacao growers, for pricing long before controlled by external EXPORT MARKETS will suddenly now behave according to our own local demands, and not the other way around. Eventually, a strong production numbers, plus the creation of our nascient and yet very promising chocolate industry WILL BE BOOSTING OUR FARMERS INCOMES SUSTAINABLY AND CONTINOUSLY despite whatever the world situation and demands become.
8. MANAGING THE PLANTINGS
Having the above issues discussed, it became plain and necessary therefore that our own PLANTINGS BE MANAGED EVEN AS EARLY AS NOW. Membership under PDS must be strenghtened, seed and plantlet sales POLICIES should now become exclusive to PDS MEMBERS allowing us to manage where and how these are planted;
At this point, ONLY PLANTACION DE SIKWATE has the national stature with great farmer member numbers, to manage the whole Philippine geographical areas, where such and such varieties should be planted. In the future, a MARKET ORIENTED CACAO INDUSTRY of the Philippines, the PDS can tell our farmers when, how and prices of such and such can be managed at any time. That would require the "districting" or creation of distinctive areas, where particular varieties are planted, managing the supplies of each, and controlling each that we are able to sustain our own local chocolatiers' needs and requirements. We may have to create districts such as ALPHA Uno, Dos, Tres, etc. or BRAVO Uno, Dos, Tres, etc. with the PDS logo as part of our own BRANDING SCHEMES for our cacao powders and chocolates to be sold in the markets. That would allow the chocolatiers to make their own basic formulas relying on our own local distinct packaging names and labellings, and BRAND MANAGEMENT will result as a normal and regular way of things.
It is clear we need to look at the CACAO INDUSTRY from the point of view of MARKET ORIENTED DIRECTIONS. We plant what we will need for the future, not what the export market today is demanding we do. We aim to develop our own CHOCOLATE INDUSTRY because WE FARM, PLANT, HARVEST our own SUPPLIES, while the so-called MATURE CHOCOLATE WESTERN WORLD merely imports them from Africa, Asia and South America, yet the inherent and greater prices and values are earned more by these EXPORT BUYERS and CHOCOLATE MAKERS, more than what the SUPPLY BASE such as the Philippines make.
Developing our own Market Oriented Cacao and Chocolate Industry therefore, means we must look forward at least 5 and 10 years hence. We plant what our local chocolatiers are able to blend, develop, and use and sell. We plant not just to produce the volumes, but also the future BEST QUALITIES that our own chocolatiers can be supported for to reach those levels of specialties to make PHILIPPINE CHOCOLATE the best in the world. We have the AGRICULTURE to produce the BEST CACAOS, while improving our CHOCOLATIERS to create the BEST WORLD'S CHOCOLATES will too become the REALITY we want for us.
- Rene Pamintuan
Filipino Aromatico
Please call Sir Mel Santos at 0916 717 0207 for your Heirloom Cacao (Criollo) needs.
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