What does it take to turn locally grown cacao into world-class chocolate? In this episode of Good and Green, Pacita Juan speaks with Rex Puentespina of Malagos Chocolate about his family's journey from rehabilitating an existing cacao farm in Davao to producing some of the Philippines' most internationally recognized chocolate. Rex shares how farmer education, international competitions, scientific feedback, sustainable farming practices, and technology have helped them continuously improve their cacao and chocolate. He also explains what chocolate percentages really mean, why consumers should pay attention to ingredient lists, and how adding value to Philippine cacao can create greater opportunities for the country's farmers and chocolate industry.

GUEST BIO:

Rex Puentespina is a farmer and chocolate maker behind Malagos Chocolate, part of his family's group of agriculture-based businesses in Davao. A graduate of the University of Santo Tomas with a degree in Commerce, major in Economics, he leads the sales and marketing of Malagos Chocolate and has helped bring its tree-to-bar, single-origin Philippine chocolate to markets in Asia, Europe, and the United States. Under his family's stewardship, Malagos has earned numerous international recognitions for its cacao beans and chocolates while continuing to champion quality, sustainable farming, innovation, and value-added Philippine cacao products.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

• How the Puentespina family's journey from orchids led to cacao and chocolate.
• Growing Davao's cacao industry through farmer education and better agricultural practices.
• Using international competitions and expert feedback to improve chocolate quality.
• What cacao percentages and ingredient lists really tell you about chocolate.
• Why adding value to Philippine cacao matters for farmers and the local industry.
• Growing cacao through intercropping instead of monoculture.
• Regenerating soil through biofertilizers and proper soil testing.
• Using science, AI, sensors, and university partnerships to improve cacao farming and fermentation.

QUOTES:

• We produce only like 0.1% of the world's (cacao) production. —Rex Puentespina
• Cacao is very delicate. The flowers are very delicate. Only 5% of the flower becomes a pod. —Rex Puentespina
• We put a lot of biofertilizer to regenerate the soil. —Rex Puentespina
• I really embrace technology. AI is a very good tool. —Rex Puentespina
• Test your soil. —Rex Puentespina

LINKS or RESOURCES MENTIONED:

Connect with Rex Puentespina:

• Malagos Chocolate in Instagram
• Malagos Chocolate in Facebook
• Malagos Chocolate in TikTok

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