Proudly Pinoy Chocolate Craze
Bean-to-Bar Filipino Heritage
(Thursday Mar 13 , 2025)
Tasting Notes of the Curator
To taste Auro Chocolate’s 70% Single Origin bar is to walk through sun-drenched Davao cacao groves—notes of tamarind pulp and burnt caramel give way to whispers of dried jackfruit, a terroir shaped by equatorial rains and meticulous slow-roasting. Theo and Philo’s 65% Dark Chocolate bar offers a sharper cadence: calamansi zest pirouettes around roasted coffee beans, while their Hot Chocolate blend—crafted from stone-ground tablea—unfurls as smoky, almost primal, its bitterness softened by whispers of vanilla-laced coconut milk. The Cocoa Spread, sweetened with muscovado, marries the grit of crushed cacao nibs to the unctuous silk of coconut oil, a texture reminiscent of palaman on freshly baked pan de sal. These are not confections, but edible archives of a 300-year-old chocolate lineage.
Pairings and Suggestions
- Auro Chocolate: Shave over bibingka for bittersweet contrast, or pair with Barako coffee to amplify its earthy undertones.
- Theo and Philo Dark Chocolate: Serve alongside adobo-marinated meats; its citrus acidity cuts through umami richness.
- Hot Chocolate: Whisk into frothy sikwate with a wooden batirol, and serve with puto bumbong’s purple rice tang.
- Cocoa Spread: Swirl into taho syrup, or layer onto ripe mango slices for a merienda of clashing tropics.
From Cacao Pods to Revolutionary Gold
Long before European colonization, the Philippines traded cacao as currency among Mindanaoan tribes. The 18th-century “chocolate revolt” saw friars hoarding tablea, sparking uprisings—a testament to its cultural weight. Today, these bars honor that legacy: Auro’s beans are sourced from T’boli cooperatives, while Theo and Philo revives pre-war Manila’s chocolateeria traditions. Each bite carries the DNA of Theobroma cacao nurtured in Philippine soil—a sweet reclamation of heritage.
Storage Instructions
Store chocolates at 16–18°C, away from direct sunlight. Cocoa spread retains texture for 6 months refrigerated; hot chocolate tablets remain stable in airtight containers for 1 year.