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7 local chocolates that would make the perfect Valentine’s Day gift

Maggie Adan

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7 local chocolates that would make the perfect Valentine’s Day gift
Rich dark chocolate with chili or quirky adobo chocolate – your loved one will love these sweet treats

The BGC stoplights are shaped like hearts, there’s a spike in flower sales, and everywhere you turn, it kinda looks like Cupid threw up all over the place. Happy Valentine’s Day, fam! ’Tis the season once again for romantic dates, roses, and chocolates. If you think chocolates are a little too old-school and predictable, these amazing proudly Philippine made cacao treats should change your mind. 

True Chocolate PH

There’s something to be said for handmade presents. Okay, so your DIY gifts rarely get the reaction you hope for. How about you change tactics this year and get something handmade… by a professional? True Chocolate PH chocolate bars, truffles, and bonbons are made to order and handcrafted in small batches by Treena Tecson, PR consultant by day, chocolatier by night. “Chocolate is my true passion, my true joy,” she shares. And it shows in her creations. Using Belgian couverture chocolate, which she tempers using the tabling method, her chocolate bars and bonbons have a glossy sheen, crisp snap, and delicious creaminess. Her truffles have a velvety rich texture and are quite irresistible. You have to check out the Nutty Dark Truffles, dark chocolate truffles rolled in roasted almonds, pistachios, and sea salt.

She’s recently started experimenting with local cacao sourced from Negros Occidental and hopes to produce local tree-to-chocolate creations. “Being able to create a local chocolate bar from my hometown is important to me because I know that I will be helping the farmers and communities who grow cacao.”

For orders and inquiries, you can email Treena at truechocolateph@gmail.com.

 

 

Auro

The name Auro is a portmanteau of Au, the periodic symbol for gold, and Oro, the Spanish word for gold. And their artisanal chocolates certainly live up to the name. They’re exquisitely rich and creamy, but what truly sets these luxurious chocolates apart is the unique flavors that make them undeniably Filipino. Mark Ocampo, managing director of Auro, says, “We only use cocoa beans grown in the Philippines because we believe it carries the flavor of the land. We also add other local ingredients like banana chips from Davao, Arabica coffee from Benguet, and cashews from Palawan because we want to highlight other local agricultural products that [represent] Filipinos and our rich natural heritage.” 

The packaging – inspired by Philippine tribal art and local weave patterns – is gorgeous and sophisticated, definitely gift-ready. Just add a bow and you’re good to go. If your SO is not really a fan of chocolate bars, try their chocolate spreads. Aside from the chocolate hazelnut variant, they also have a roasted white chocolate cashew spread. Your move, Nutella.

 


Tigre Y Oliva

There’s so much love that goes into the making of these homegrown, handmade, single-origin (in some cases, single-estate) chocolates. “Our company was born less than a year ago. I moved to the Philippines to make chocolate two years ago and settle down in La Union. With a local partner, cacao expert, and with a background in cacao trading, we started Tigre Y Oliva. The company is named after my two daughters, Tigerlily and Olive,” shares Italian chocolatier and founder Simone Mastrota. They source only the finest organic cacao beans from Davao to ensure their chocolate bars would have that bold, complex, and unique flavor that sets it apart from the rest. The beans undergo a complex process of drying, roasting, grinding, and aging before they are ready to be tempered and molded. Then each chocolate bar is hand wrapped in pretty Italian paper. “I’m an Italian chocolate maker, and I wanted something in our chocolate that would show my origins. We chose a beautiful Italian wrapping paper that we get from a small cartiera in my hometown.” Delicious and oh-so-pretty, these chocolates are perfect for Valentine’s Day.

 

 

The Freefood Co. Coco Dolcé

With Coco Dolcé, there’s no need to wait for cheat day to enjoy a yummy chocolate bar. These bean-to-bar premium chocolates are made from locally sourced fine cacao beans, low-glycemic organic coconut sugar, and virgin coconut oil, making them a delicious and healthier option. Now your Valentine can have their chocolate and eat it, too! Luscious, creamy, and rich, Coco Dolcé is an indulgent treat that’s absolutely crave-worthy. You can choose between Milk Chocolate, Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate with Pili Nuts, Milk Chocolate with Rice Crispies, or Dark Chocolate with Chili. Or, because they are healthier than your regular chocolate bar, why not get them all? It’s Valentine’s Day after all.

Theo & Philo

Chances are you’ve come across Theo & Philo before. Theo and Philo was the first in the country to create bean-to-bar chocolates. Their products are made from cacao sourced from Davao and sugar sourced from Bacolod. They come in all sorts of interesting and distinctly Pinoy flavors: the best-selling Labuyo’s sure to spice things up this Valentine’s Day. There’s also the quintessentially Filipino combo of Green Mango and Salt. The Calamansi features our ubiquitous local lime while the Turon has banana pieces, caramel, and sesame seeds. They even have adobo chocolate, which has soy sauce toffee and black pepper! The chocolates are wrapped in colorful paper with designs that depict our rich culture, tradition, and way of life – with art prints of calamansi, maya, and the Philippine Eagle. Get your loved one the sampler set and throw in their chocolate-covered candied mangoes and a bottle of their crunchy peanut chocolate spread, too.    


Risa Chocolates

When a chocolate company says that their chocolates are “made with passion” and that their products “elicit una sonrisa a de la corazon – a smile from the heart,” you know they’d be perfect for Valentine’s Day. Decadent and velvety rich, chocolatier Pam Lim Cinco’s creations truly reflect her passion for making chocolates. She sources her cacao beans from South Cotabato and uses local ingredients to craft the different flavors of her chocolates bars and barks, pralines, and truffles. There’s the 70% South Cotabato dark chocolate, the Pastillas de Pili, and the Bacon Chili which uses bacon from local smoked meat purveyor Mister Delicious and chili from various local farms. If you’re looking to give your date chocolates that are little out of the ordinary, there’s the Cerveza Negra truffles – dark chocolate truffles laced with our local dark malt beer. Cheers!

Hiraya Chocolates

Hiraya is a Filipino word that means “fruit of one’s hopes, dreams, and aspirations.” Pretty romantic, no? Their bean-to-bar artisanal chocolates are made from cacao beans that are sourced from Malabog, Davao. The flavors of the different variants are also deeply reflective of the Philippines. The Coconut chocolate incorporates coconut milk – giving it a rich and melt-in-your-mouth consistency – and roasted coconut. The Coffee Nibs dark chocolate brings together coffee beans from Benguet and cacao from Davao for a chocolate with deep, fruity flavor profile. For the ulitmate indulgence though, get the Chicharon chocolate which combines spicy dark chocolate with salty chicharon – a match made in heaven, if you ask us. Just like you and your Valentine, perhaps? (Just make sure you tell her she’s the dark chocolate and not the chicharron in this analogy.)

– Rappler.com

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