Introduction
GETTING TO KNOW PHILIPPINE CACAO
To Filipinos, cacao is a reminder of home.
Since its arrival more than three centuries ago, we have deeply integrated it into our everyday lives - its presence is prominent in our culture and cuisines. In fact, a warm cup of sikwate (hot chocolate) used to be the go-to morning drink of Filipinos and for some, it still is. It has always been ever-present in our lives, making it one of the most valuable crops to us. Cacao first arrived on our shores around the 1670s when a ship of the Manila-Acapulco Trade brought our first cacao trees, which was believed to be Criollo, one of the most prized varieties today. 1 Historical records point to either Luzon or Visayas as its first destination where it was distributed to households. Eventually, there was a cacao tree at every home in the Philippines for centuries, shaping a rich chocolate culture that has birthed various dishes which remain to be a source of comfort for most of us.
1 Blanco, M., and AndreĢ s, N. (1877). Flora de Filipinas . Manila: Plana
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