Name: Philippines Sawata 2026
Brand: Chocolate Alchemy
SKU: SAWATA-WHOLE-RAW-10LB
Price: 118.0 USD
Availability: InStock

Philippines Sawata 2026

Origin: Philippines
Region: Sawata, Davao del Norte, Mindanao
Type: Trinitario; reported farm plantings include PBC123, UF18, BR25 and PG610
Sourcing: Direct Trade
Crop Year: 2026

The aroma is mouthwatering chocolate and lively tamarind notes. There is abundant chocolate and soft red fruit with more mouthwatering acidity (soft, not bracing). The flavor is rich and round with hints of mineral and toasted bread. It is a touch nutty but nothing specific, lending a general smoothness to the whole profile. Unlike the Philippines Calinan’s bold smoke flavor, there is the barest hint here lending depth and low notes. Overall this has a classic chocolate flavor. Bitterness and astringency are well in check and there is a nice brown-sugar sweetness tying it all together.

Profile Drum Roasting: The profile I used for this is 12:00/13:40/18:40 @ 261 F or in time notation, x/1:40/5:00 @ 261 F. This translates to coming in hot and heavy but then slowing down a bit shy of 212 F. Under 2 minutes in the development phase brings out the chocolate and develops the bold flavors. There is a freedom in roasting this bean in that it has no nut and can handle the bold treatment. I recommend making the finishing phase a good full 5 minutes to mitigate the astringency that is there.

Behmor: Due to the cold start of the Behmor, you can just set it on the 1 lb setting with 2.5 lb of cocoa and go. When you begin getting aromatic notes, somewhere around 4 minutes left (14 minutes elapsed of the 18-minute start), drop the power to P4 (75% power) and continue roasting for about another 6-8 minutes, waiting for the aroma to either decrease or get sharp. This is all, of course, if you don’t have a thermocouple in the beans (Modifying your Behmor). If you have that, you can follow the profiles above.

Oven Roasting: I’ve been experimenting a lot recently with a less fussy way to oven roast and I find this procedure works pretty well. It is moderately predictable and repeatable and, although not as dynamic and controllable as a drum roaster, does a good job. You will need an IR thermometer. Roast 2 lb of beans. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Place your cocoa beans in a single layer on a baking sheet and put them into the oven. Stir the beans at 5 minutes and check the temperature. Continue roasting until the surface temperature reads 205-215 F (it may well vary across the beans). At that point, turn your oven down to 10-15 F above your target EOR, in this case 260 + ~15 = 275, and continue to roast, stirring every 5 minutes until approximately 260°F. There will be variation, but the beauty of this method is that turning the oven down makes it difficult to over roast. If you do find your roast is progressing too fast, adjust accordingly, starting at 325 F and/or changing your target to 265 F. Overall, you may well roast 30-40 minutes. The important part here is to get good momentum going in a hot oven and then basically coast to finish.

Philippines — Sawata

About Sawata

Sawata’s cacao farms lie in Davao del Norte, Mindanao, in the Philippines. Cacao shares the ground with coconut and other crops, and much of the work is carried by small farms and families.

Among the growers are Reynaldo Montenegro, a member of the San Miguel Cooperative, and Pepeto Colina, an agriculture graduate who raises his own seedlings. In Barangay San Miguel, Teofanes Ledres grows cacao alongside coconut and rubber. Victor Figueras works with his two grown children, intercropping cacao with mango, banana and coconut and using sleeves to protect the pods.

Post-Harvest Details

Both the Calinan and Sawata crops are fermented centrally at the Sawata facility, using two tiers of wooden boxes.

Fermentation: The beans spend five days in the upper boxes. The first mixing takes place on day three when the beans reach 48°C; they are then mixed daily when that temperature is reached.
Cooling: After five days, the beans move into the lower boxes for another one to two days, where they are mixed and cooled to ambient temperature.
Drying: The beans then move to elevated, covered drying beds and are dried to 6.5% moisture.

Farm & Region Details

Region: Sawata, Davao del Norte, Mindanao, Philippines.
Growers: Reynaldo Montenegro, Pepeto Colina, Teofanes Ledres and Victor Figueras.
Elevation: The origin report lists Reynaldo’s farm at 80 feet, Pepeto’s at 120 feet, Teofanes’s at 100 feet and Victor’s at 150 feet.
Cacao: Trinitario. The confirmed crop mix includes UF18, BR25, W10 and PG610.
Farm plantings: Reynaldo grows mainly PBC123; Pepeto grows UF18 and BR25; Teofanes grows mainly UF18; Victor grows UF18 and PG610. These farm plantings are distinct from the confirmed crop mix.