The cacao king of the Philippines

The World

Ten years ago, Philippine farmer Christopher Fadriga knew nothing about cacao. Then he discovered some old criollo cacao trees growing in people’s backyards. The heirloom variety, which had long vanished from Mexico, was brought over by the Galleon Trade hundreds of years ago. Now, Fadriga’s criollo cacao beans are the toast of chocolate lovers the world over. Dany Mitzman reports from Negros, in the Philippines.

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