Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Theo & Philo Artisan Chocolates





I've bought Theo & Philo artisan chocolates three times in the last month alone. My family and I end up enjoying it before I even think of taking photographs. The Green Mango & Salt bar above is the remaining bar in my stash. It's my favorite flavor: unique and very Filipino in taste. The pretty packaging proclaims: "By the Philippines, For the Philippines, Of the Philippines." What's not to like?

I found out about Theo & Philo from my friend and neighbor Karlo, via Google+. He recommended I get it from Echo Store in Podium, which sells sustainable, eco-friendly and proudly-Filipino products. Now I am a sucker for quality local products - I comb trade fairs for products like this. The website says the cacao is from Davao and the sugar, from Bacolod. I just HAD to try it.

On my first purchase, I chose Dark Chocolate and Labuyo (chili) flavors. The Dark Chocolate was of very high quality. It had depth, and a delicious, bittersweet flavor. The following day we tried the Labuyo. It was Dark Chocolate with an appealing, spicy end note which everyone (with the exception of my 6yo niece) enjoyed. Apparently it's one of the bestsellers in the Theo & Philo lineup of flavors. On my second purchase a week later, I got Milk Chocolate and Green Mango & Salt. I'm not a very big fan of generic milk chocolates per se, but was glad that this version had a high cacao content and wasn't very sweet. The Green Mango & Salt was a happy surprise. There were dried bits of green mango interspersed with occasional rock salt crystals in a Dark Chocolate matrix. I loved the contrast in flavors and textures! On my third purchase a couple of weeks later, I bought TWO Green Mango & Salt bars, and one flavored with Barako coffee. Embedded in the Dark Chocolate were crushed bits of roasted Barako (Liberica) coffee beans. Crunchy-gritty, with the full flavor of coffee. Another winner!

They make wonderful gifts, don't they? Christmas is coming and I'm already thinking of who to give them to. I've posted about them on Facebook and by now a number of my friends have tried them too. I've already given some balikbayan friends a selection of flavors. In fact, I'm looking for Calamansi and Ginger for my next purchase. Echo Store doesn't always carry all the flavors (it depends on the delivery, and of course some flavors are more popular than others), but you will be able to find them in these stores. Each bar is PhP 95, and so worth it.

I'm so happy with such a quality product - it's definitely worth our support.

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I'm not affiliated with Echo Store, but am a regular customer.

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