Cocoaphilia: Appreciation of Chocolate (Van Houten Made Me a Cocoaphile)

September 18, 2011 Ruth Dela Cruz

I would give you a bar of chocolate and 1 minute to finish it. That’s quite easy, right? What if I let you stay in a room full of chocolate, but you have to eat those luscious chocolate in a Cocoaphilia way?

Cocoaphilia is a term used to describe appreciation of chocolate; it refers to the passion of a person, who is nuts over chocolate and someone who knows that Van Houten is a good chocolate! Van Houten, a popular chocolate brand who has been in the market for over 180 years, made us certified Cocoaphiles last week at Society Lounge in Makati and made us use our senses to better appreciate good chocolate.

Lori Baltazar of Dessert Comes First hosted the event and showed foodies, cocoaphiles and media how to better appreciate chocolate. Nope, it is not putting it straight in your mouth, you have to use your five senses.

As soon as bars of Van Houten were served to us, she asked us to first feel its packaging – it is smooth, and shiny – it only means what is inside is a premium chocolate. Next, snap two square out of the bar – now, gently snap it and listen to the “crack”sound. I know, it is torture. Smell it and smell some more the good cocoa used to make the chocolate. Then, put it in your mouth without chewing, just let it rest in your mouth (and here’s the best part), breathe using your mouth and let the flavor of the chocolate pass through your mouth and all the senses around it.

You may even temper the back of your tongue and all other senses around it by moving you tongue, then the best part is to chew your chocolate – gently, and savour the flavor and the goodness! Some may call it torture, but through the routine, I was able to appreciate chocolate more – and I mean good chocolate.

We were not only treated with traditional chocolates that afternoon, we were even served with dishes incorporated with Van Houten chocolate.

Chicken Mole Negro

Enchilada sauce with Tacos

Chocolate Cake

My favorite part was the chocolate and coffee pairing! I love good coffee and chocolate – so this is the perfect treat for me. We were served with coffee shots and bars of chocolates. It is amazing how different coffee blends when mixed with chocolate give a more distinct flavor. I love how the chocolate serves as a sweetener for the perfect blend.