08/14/2026
Know Your Cacao 🌱🍫 | BR25 vs. PBC123
Can you tell these two cacao varieties apart?
🔴 LEFT — BR25
BR25 is a cacao clone cultivated in the Philippines and valued for its productivity and relatively early bearing. Its pods are generally plumper and more rounded, with comparatively shallow ridges and a smoother appearance. Young pods can display a beautiful deep red or reddish-purple color before changing as they mature.
Farmer’s clue: BR25 = plumper, smoother and less deeply ridged.
🟤 RIGHT — PBC123
PBC123 originated from Malaysian cacao breeding and selection and later became one of the clones cultivated in the Philippines. Its pods tend to be longer and more elongated, with prominent ridges, deeper furrows and a rougher, more sculptured surface.
Farmer’s clue: PBC123 = longer, strongly ridged and deeply furrowed.
But cacao identification shouldn’t rely on color alone. Pod color changes with maturity and growing conditions. Farmers should look at a combination of characteristics—pod shape, ridges, furrows, surface texture, length and tip, together with the tree’s propagation history.
Here in our farm, these different cacao genetics grow side by side together with other varieties. 🌳
And ultimately, their differences come together in the beans we carefully harvest, ferment and dry—expressing the unique character of our Samar origin.
Different genetics. Different pods. One farm. One origin—Samar. 🇵🇭🍫
