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Here in the Philippines, chocolates have the impression of being sweet, indulgent, and often, imported. After all, it’s almost always the go-to pasalubong of our titos and titas coming from abroad.
These chocolates come in interesting flavors, too. Some of them are mint-filled; others have toasted coconut or peanut butter toppings, and some even have crunchy layers with ooey gooey hazelnut centers.
Sometimes, however, we just want something simple and easy on the palate. Not too indulgent flavor- and texture-wise; just good ol’, delicious chocolate. Something closer to home, with Pinoy flavors at the front and center.
Thankfully, we’ve seen a rise in Filipino craft chocolate. By craft, this means that the chocolate itself is made from raw cacao beans, which emphasizes on its inherent flavor. Most, if not all, of these craft chocolates are locally-manufactured and -produced. One of which is emerging brand, Anwin Chocolate.
“Anwin Chocolate offers "bean-to-bar" chocolate,” shared Wilmer Suzara, Jr., owner of Anwin Chocolate. “Bean-to-bar means chocolate makers like us control [as much as possible] each step of the chocolate-making process from sourcing the cacao to roasting, grinding, and conching to making a small batch of chocolate products.”
Interestingly, not many people know that the Philippines’ location makes it a prime place to grow cacao.
“Cacao grows best 20 degrees north and south of the equator, and the Philippines is actually one of the best places to plant and grow cacao in the world,” Wilmer added. “In short, you get really high-quality cacao here in the Philippines. And since we have access to high-quality cacao, it made sense that we also market craft chocolate made using cacao beans grown and harvested here in the Philippines.”
What makes craft chocolate special is the depth of flavor it gives. It can be creamy, earthy, bitter, and maybe something else; but, it’s always well-rounded because the spotlight is on the natural goodness of the cacao.
“Craft chocolate is different. It's quality over quantity. Ingredients come from a single source, so you can really differentiate varieties. Craft chocolate focuses on the fine flavor of the cacao beans, with an emphasis on genetics, variety, and quality. This is similar to consuming specialty coffee or fine wine. How you manage the post-harvest processes is also key in defining the flavor profile of the chocolate.”
Wilmer further explains, “With craft chocolate, you get what is called true chocolate, where the cacao is front and center, allowing your taste buds to experience the full flavor notes the cacao beans offer.
“Craft chocolate is also made with fewer ingredients. Usually, it’s just cacao and organic sugar. Sometimes, we add one or two more organic ingredients like fruits or nuts to create variations in their product line. No additives. Just real chocolate.”
When asked whether there are a lot of differences between regular chocolate and vegan craft chocolate, Wilmer shared that it’s both yes and no.
“Yes, the taste may slightly differ from dairy-based milk chocolates as the creaminess comes from plant-based ingredients like rice, oats, or coconut. And no, since you can use these plant-based ingredients to make it taste (almost) identical to dairy-rich chocolate products.”
“There's a growing number of vegan chocolate options that are now available in the market. However, it's very limited (and expensive), since most of the available vegan options are imported products.”
Because of how rich and decadent their chocolate bars are, customers often order, reorder, and then order for others to try out their local discovery.
“We have several customers who have been ordering regularly because they wanted to share their 'discovery' with their friends and families,” Wilmer said. “And that, for us, is a huge compliment because when people are willing to share our products with others, then it validates our journey of trying to show the world that Philippine cacao and Philippine chocolate are indeed world-class.
Wilmer excitedly shared one memorable feedback they’ve gotten from customers is that it tastes “so much better than commercial chocolate…that they could actually taste the different flavor profiles of the cacao. We love it when we see their reaction to trying craft chocolate for the first time. It's like an eye-opener of sorts for them. And it makes us happy when they say that they are proud that this is a local brand.”
What makes Anwin Chocolate more endearing, though, is that they showcase not only authenticity and transparency in the end-to-end process of their products, but also genuine pride in the lovely people behind the production. It’s one thing to experience the different flavor profiles of cacao, but it’s another to get to “meet” the farmers who carefully and masterfully grow the beans.
“We directly work with smallholder cacao farmers. We practice direct trade and establish a relationship with farmers (cutting off middlemen). Working directly with farmers is an absolute delight. It also gives us a better insight into their farming practices and we learn a lot from them, too–from planting cacao seedlings, growing cacao trees, and harvesting the pods, all the way to the post-harvest processes.
Wilmer has nothing but words of gratitude and praise to their farmer partners, “We actually owe it to them as they have generously taught us so many things about cacao farming and agriculture. We are very grateful to have amazing farmer partners and we feel blessed to have the opportunity to support these communities as well.”
“We want to be able to build a modern post-harvest facility that our farmer partners can use,” he said. “We're also working on providing training on farming best practices as well as entrepreneurship workshops for our farmers. Since we're not preventing our partners from working with other organizations, we also want them to be equipped with business skills and tech tools that they may be able to use when dealing with others.
“We want to support as many farming communities as possible and produce world-class Filipino craft chocolate that all Filipinos can enjoy,” he further adds.
On top of that, Wilmer dreams of being able to make significant changes in the local chocolate industry.
“Our direct trade practices allow for a higher income on their [farmers] end as well as providing other means of support to their respective communities,” he said. “This should be a norm for any business or company that wishes to transact with Filipino farmers directly. And this is a model that we wish other companies to employ when dealing with Filipino farmers. This is also why we indicate in our packaging the cacao source location and feature our farmer partners in our social media because we believe that in the chocolate industry, the cacao farmer is the most important stakeholder.
“We wish to see more brands following the same path as we do and we hope that more people get to appreciate and support locally-made products.”
We firmly believe that brands are so much more than their products. There’s passion, there’s knowledge, there’s people, there’s heart. And with Anwin Chocolate, we see all that–and more.
Anwin Chocolate is one of Parlon’s OG Club partners. Get 10% off with a minimum purchase of four vegan chocolate bars if you sign up to be a member of the OG Club.
To be an OG member and unlock more perks, sign up HERE. For more information about Parlon, visit www.parlon.ph and follow Parlon on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
