Kitchen Rescue One-stop shop for everything chocolate By Reggie Aspiras Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 20:35:00 09/24/2008
MANILA, Philippines—Like wine, coffee or tea, the deliciousness and superiority of chocolate is largely dependent on the concept of terroir.
The French term is still best defined by a friend, Wine Hunter Jerome Phillipon, who says: “Terroir is the combination of the natural environment, land, climate; the traditional interaction of man with his environment to produce something with the specific influence of direct land environment on to the taste of food.”
Simply put, cacao grown under different geographical settings or “terroir conditions” will produce chocolates with very distinct differences in taste, color, aroma, texture, mouth feel and flavor.
So if there is such a thing as wine tasting, coffee and tea appreciation, there is such a thing as chocolate tasting and appreciation as well.
At Heavenly Chocolates, we can now enjoy a rich cup of hot chocolate made from 64-percent single origin cocoa from Ecuador (strong, intense, full-bodied, bitter, smoky notes, good for true-blue chocoholics); Ghana (smooth, uncomplicated, well received especially by children, a bit sweet); Ivory Coast (rich cocoa with nutty flavor, cereal and biscuit notes, hints of coconut. Ivory Coast serves one-third of the world’s cocoa bean supply); Madagascar (most unique and exotic, with distinct fruity notes of raisins, fruity, dried fruit finish, well balanced); and Peru (mild cocoa with floral notes, hints of dried flowers).
The chocolate “bar” is the brainchild of Philip Carreon Sevilla, Ellaine Santos Sevilla, Brendan Chin and Benjamin Pedro, whose vision is to bring the experience of quality chocolates to everyone.
Heavenly Chocolates is the exclusive distributor of Sachi Nama from Niigata prefecture Japan, which come in bitter, milk, bittersweet, mint, rum, champagne, strawberry and macha variants.
The resto also bakes specialty chocolates cakes (I haven’t tried them but will let you know if they’re good, though they come in striking designs), serves chocolate drinks, even chocolate pasta, and sells single origin chocolate buttons to make into hot cocoa.
Just for you, the owners can source chocolate-themed gift items such as chocolate frames and towels rolled like a chocolate jelly roll cake.
In time, they wish to see themselves as the one-stop shop for all our chocolate needs.
I look forward to the arrival of their first shipment in October. Saw their beautiful striped dark and white chocolate chips and chunks, which look so good on cookies, muffins and cakes.
Call 6662208 or 0915-7882105.
For chocoholics
Maila, here’s your chocolate fondue recipe from Heavenly Chocolates. I took the liberty of asking how a perfect cup of hot cocoa is done, as well as a recipe for a cold choco drink for all you chocoholics!
Gianduja Fondue
250 ml cream, 1 tbsp hazelnut paste 100 g chocolate buttons or tablets of choice (at least 53 percent cocoa).
In a small saucepan, heat the cream over low heat, then add the chocolates until melted. Remove pan from heat and add a tablespoon of hazelnut paste and stir the mixture with a wooden spoon until smooth.
Pour the warm fondue into a serving bowl and surround it with your choice of fresh fruit pieces.
Pure Origin Hot Chocolate Drink
110 ml milk 40-55 g chocolate origin buttons (64-percent cocoa) 1 tbsp whipped cream (optional)
In a small saucepan, heat the milk until it just begins to simmer. Remove the pan from heat and whisk in the chocolate buttons until melted. Pour hot chocolate drink to a cup and top with a tablespoon of whipped cream.
Chocolate Chiller
250 ml milk 100 g ice 13 g cocoa powder (22 percent fat) 30-50 g sugar 1 scoop of chocolate ice cream (optional)
Place the milk, ice, cocoa powder and sugar in blender until well combined. Pour the cold mixture in a tall glass and top with a scoop of chocolate ice cream.
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