The Classes
Cacao ceremony with gentle postures
With Julie Faye Evans
The day is started with a cacao ceremony combined with the aroma of rose allowing guests to ‘open their hearts,’ experiencing bliss molecules and magnesium to kick in. They will perform breathing exercises with gentle postures for serotonin release with a gong to end the meditation.
Venue: Next to Equestrian Lounge Terrace
Reformer Pilates
With Karina Maurina and Christina Smith
Venue: Connect Pilates Studio
Pilates on Mat
With Ksenia Mischenko
This is an all levels Pilates class performed on the mat. Clients will be taken through a series of Pilates mat exercises that explore various body positions, planes of motion, & joint movements. The class may use Pilates props (ie, Foam Roller, Pilates Circle, TheraBands, etc.) for some exercises at the instructor’s discretion.
Venue: Next to Equestrian Lounge Terrace
Zumba
With Nena Obradovic
This dance class features high- and low-intensity intervals that help improve cardiovascular fitness while also enhancing balance, coordination, agility, and to some degree, strength through the application of beginner-accessible choreography.
Thank you, everyone, for an incredible morning of sisterhood, fun and wellness! And thank you to our teachers whose energies have motivated us and gave us light.
Let's do this again!
This month we shine our spotlight to Razan Khalaf, An artist, a designer, and a certified healthy chocolover. She is a cherished member of the Co community.
Those fun encounters with our customers that started with chocolates and food eventually led to interesting, and inspiring conversations. We discovered their passions through these exchanges and with our community growing bigger and more diverse each day, we figured it would just be awesome if we can inspire more people with fun and interesting features about our friends in the Co Chocolat Community.
Could you be our next featured member?
I was unaware of it, until I saw the brand pop-up store event in SEVA, that was 2020. Took a chance, I decided to try their hot chocolate, I usually have upset stomach after drinking hot chocolate from many brands that I have tried. Surprisingly, it did not upset my stomach, and since then, I've loved the hot chocolate.
2. How should we describe your work/your vocation/your passion? And what do you find most fulfilling about it?
My dedication lies in helping the voiceless, specifically animals. I dedicate my time to volunteering at an animal shelter, fostering, and offering support to individuals tirelessly caring for all animals in the UAE. The most rewarding aspect is the certainty that I am creating a positive impact, actively contributing to making a difference, and fostering positive changes within the community. The immeasurable joy and sense of purpose derived from assisting those in need, especially our four-legged friends, is truly fulfilling.
3. How have your life experiences and exposure to different cultures influenced the way you see the world?
Cultural sensitivity and cultivating an open mind through interactions with people from diverse cultural backgrounds have significantly broadened my outlook on life. This exposure has expanded not only my perspective but also enhanced my empathy and understanding of the differences that exist in life.
4. Any advice for our community specially those whom you feel are exploring
Follow what your heart says. As everyone said, Life is too short, go explore and be brave. Do not be afraid to try new things.
5. Which Co Chocolat products do you love the most?
I love the brand itself, because they support local farmer in the Philippines. Fair trade. I also love their Vegan cookies and the 70% hot chocolate. It’s the replacement of my coffee every morning. I wish to try more of their chocolates, eventually more would be veganized.
Those fun encounters with our customers that started with chocolates and food eventually led to interesting, and inspiring conversations. We discovered their passions through these exchanges and with our community growing bigger and more diverse each day, we figured it would just be awesome if we can inspire more people with fun and interesting features about our friends in the Co Chocolat Community.
Could you be our next featured member?
VOTE NOW and help us choose the most beautiful and meaningful Ramadan Cover Design to grace our chocolate box in Ramadan 2024. We received entries from Egypt, India, Germany and the UAE but our judges have trimmed it down to a final three. Their designs are based on the theme:
"On the Wings of Faith and Hope, Today and Tomorrow.."
You can reply directly to this email by sending the entry number to cast your vote.
🏆 WINNING DESIGN will grace the cover of our Ramadan Calendar Chocolate Box which will be available for retail sale from Feb 18. This gift box will hold 30 delicious bite-size, healthy chocolates, perfect for that fasting gut in Ramadan. It will also have daily reminders of good deeds (bec we all need reminders to be nice).
We thank our gold sponsor Alpha Pro Partners. They have been helping us grow our chocolate business through their reliable accounting and consultancy services since 2020. DiapointME is our go-to for diabetes support, tools and information specially for kids with Type 1 DM
The grand prize winner will receive a 1,000 dhs cash prize + 1,000 dhs worth of Co Chocolat products.
Dinner for two at Boca Dubai
Lunch for two at Villa Naas
8 Pilates sessions from Connect Pilates UAE
Gift hamper from Mumzworld
Gift Prizes from our Diabetes Support Partner, Diapoint ME
All three finalists will receive:
Handcrafted, one-of-a-kind homeware products from Earth & Ethics
Handpoured soywax candles from The Oasis Candles
Delicious, healthy The Broth Lab
Factory tour and chocolate-making with a plus 1 from Co Chocolat
We thank our judges Omar Shihab, Doaa Tahboub, Megan Al Marzooqi, Hadil Al Khatib and Omar Elbustami for helping us in the judging process.
VOTE NOW! Results will be out on Jan. 25.
This month we shine our spotlight on Chrisjo Rizada, a Designer and an Aspiring Pilates Instructor. She is a cherished member of the Co community.
Curious to learn more about Chrisjo, we asked her a few questions:
1. When did you start prac3cing Pilates? And how long have you been practicing?
I began practicing mat Pilates independently in 2019, later incorporating equipment to enhance my experience, and over the past four years, it has transformed me into a wellness and movement advocate by improving my core strength and overall wellbeing.
2. To those who are not familiar with your beliefs or traditions, tell us a bit about it.
I perceive maintaining good health as not just a personal responsibility but also a form of worship, expressing love for those around me. By caring for myself, I honor both my well-being and the relationships with my loved ones, alleviating concerns and creating more meaningful time together
3. What can you advice women when it comes to embracing their own power and find their own passion?
Explore stuff, try new things, and hang with people who lift you up. Your passion? It's in the mix of what you love and what makes you feel alive.
4. You have been suppor3ng us for a long 3me, how did you know about Co Chocolat?
All because of my beautiful friend Hannah! I fell in love with the healthy bites, your brand story and creative packaging!
5. You have been such a silent supporter of Co Chocolat, can you tell us what are your favorite products?
My favorite products are the Affogato Chocolate Bar and the Peanut Butter Crunch Mousse Cake.
6. Which Co Chocolat products do you love the most?
This is a tough question because I love everything! HAZELNUT GIANDUJA SPREAD!!! Next in line are limited edition Champorado chocolate bar, Rocher Tumblr Hazelnut and MONSTER COOKIES!!
Those fun encounters with our customers that started with chocolates and food eventually led to interesting, and inspiring conversations. We discovered their passions through these exchanges and with our community growing bigger and more diverse each day, we figured it would just be awesome if we can inspire more people with fun and interesting features about our friends in the Co Chocolat Community.
Could you be our next featured member?
This month we shine our spotlight to Aurelie Wurtz, A corporate executive turned health guru, a certified healthy chocolover. She is a cherished member of the Co community.
Curious to learn more about Aurelie, we asked her a few questions:
1. Where did you first heard about Co Chocolat?
I first discovered Co Chocolat at SEVA - this is when I discovered the cookies, the chocolate spread and most important the hot chocolates! I had the chance to learn about the brand from Iman, one of the founder and you could really tell the passion and hard work behind the brand. The attention to detail is next level: just look at the packaging of the chocolate bars. Just wow. Then I was able to get a refill from Candylicious in Dubai Mall, it was a surprising yet practical location. And since last year I really enjoyed visiting the Warsan factory. Highly recommend the tour to learn more about how chocolate is made.
2. How should we describe your work/your vocation/your passion? And what do you find most fulfilling about it?
I’ve been living in Dubai since 2012 and after 10 years in a corporate role I have finally took a leap of faith to pursue my passion for health and wellbeing. I became a health coach and I’m now focusing my time and energy in finding better ways to live a healthy life, with less toxines, less plastic, more nutrients, more meaningful connections, more joy! I believe home cooking is a cornerstone of people’s health and wellbeing which is why I share easy recipes that can be done without specifics skills or complicated ingredients. I’m also really concerned with the environment and always search for ways to be more sustainable and live in in a toxic free, clutter free home. I share those discovery with my audience on Instagram.
3. To those who are not familiar with your beliefs or traditions, tell us a bit about it.
I’m French. I come from a small city at the border with Switzerland and Germany. My grand parents had to switch from French to German speaking a couple of time during their childhood. So I got a bit of this influence as well. In terms of food, but also habits : to be on time, follow the rules… A lot of people in Dubai are surprised when I tell them I’m French - except when they hear me speak English - after all this time I still have a very tick French accent.
For me what was very different in terms of lifestyle. Back home we would eat home made food 90% of the time. Restaurants were for celebrations and delivery options only arrived recently. I used to walk a lot or take public transport. My parents have a garden so we would spend a lot of time outdoor and interact a lot with our neighbours. For me community is very important as well as taking care of our environment.
4. Any advice for our community specially those whom you feel are exploring?
Follow your heart. If you are in Dubai, there is a big chance you are an expat so an adventurer! This region has so much to offer, I would highly recommend to use your free time to explore other emirates and the nature surrounding us. Try a hiking session in Fujeirah and see the beauty of the wadi along the trail (I did one with @eccadventureuae), do a day trip to Mussandam and watch the dolphins swimming alongside the boat, have a hot chocolate in the Sharjah desert, order local organic veggies from local farms, try a new class or activity: pottery, hot yoga or sourdough making! To keep your brain young you need to keep doing new things! And with Dubai having constant new activities and event but also with people relocating, it is important to find your tribe of like minded people to feel at home and fulfilled.
5. Which Co Chocolat products do you love the most?
I can’t choose one so I will share with you my top 3: My favorite of all time is the Traditional Mayan hot chocolate. I love that with just some hot water you get a healthy chocolate treat. I also enjoy mixing it with the 65% dark to get a sweeter version. My number 2 is the Green Hazelnut Gianduja spread. This one is so dangerous. You might end up eating the jar with a spoon and not have a chance to try it on some bread. And finally I highly recommend you to try the Power Up Chocolate bar. This chocolate bar is almost too pretty to eat. I love the mix of chocolate, nut and dry fruits. Gives you that boost of energy in the afternoon.
Those fun encounters with our customers that started with chocolates and food eventually led to interesting, and inspiring conversations. We discovered their passions through these exchanges and with our community growing bigger and more diverse each day, we figured it would just be awesome if we can inspire more people with fun and interesting features about our friends in the Co Chocolat Community.
Could you be our next featured member?
This month we shine our spotlight on Damir Rakic, A True Renaissance Soul and a Certified Healthy Chocolover. He is a cherished member of the Co community.
Curious to learn more about Damir, we asked him a few questions:
1. Where did you first heard about Co Chocolat?
The first time I heard about it was through my wonderful ex-girlfriend, who, like me at the time, pays attention to a healthy lifestyle. She was visiting me in Dubai at the time and she found this chocolate dealer. At first I thought it was like any other where a individuals like to just snack. But then I was very surprised myself, when I could see through my keen health awareness, exactly what this is all about. I am very happy and grateful that this happened.
2. How should we describe your work/your vocation/your passion? And what do you find most fulfilling about it?
For me, the vocation is the one when you fulfill yourself and other people at least through whatever action to improve life, whether entrepreneurial, friendly, in partnership. I no longer divide my working life between private and business, nor into a mere named profession. I use the skills I have to solve problems and fulfill the things I want. It is really a mission in life and inner intuition that I follow, with clear goals that I work on, no matter how long they take. When I get stuck on something, it has to be completed to the end and if it is not completed, it is not the end.
My greatest passion is to accomplish healing, necessary steps to advance processes in self-development and become the best version of myself. This also applies to healthy eating, for example. I mean real healthy vibrant food, not the pseudo nutrition.
In life, mistakes are also part of it, things you have done to extract knowledge from it, but through free will then still navigate through the sea of life for the right thing.
3. How have your life experiences and exposure to different cultures influenced the way you see the world?
Foreign cultures have only encouraged me to shed a narrow-minded view that one gets from one's surroundings. Especially in Europe, this is sometimes unfortunately the case, as there are many abuses worldwide at the moment. We are in very turbulent times. You should focus on the good things and change what you want to have in the world. For me, this includes the actions of this company. we all know about the negative things in chocolate production, where I myself feel down to every single cell that this chocolate was simply made with a lot of love.
As I said, it's not just about chocolate, it's about money in for a lot of companies. But if money becomes secondary and does the right thing, the right clientele will build up who will appreciate it. The world is shifting.
Many companies forget the important goals in life, unfortunately we live in such a world, yet. This is just a puzzle of the whole big picture of what is going on in the world. I must quote Berthold Brecht here: "He who does not know the truth is merely a fool. But he who knows it and calls it a lie is a criminal." And we don't want to be fools and criminals, do we?
4. Any advice for our community specially those whom you feel are exploring?
Just follow your intuition and heart, if you are still well together you will always feel it. Otherwise, life will show you what you were capable of being. Novak Djokovic once said: „Dream big“ and yea… try to make it happen.
5. Which Co Chocolat products do you love the most?
Every single variety is special, I love them all. My two favorites are "that skinny" and the "Green Hazelnut Gianduja Spread“.
Those fun encounters with our customers that started with chocolates and food eventually led to interesting, and inspiring conversations. We discovered their passions through these exchanges and with our community growing bigger and more diverse each day, we figured it would just be awesome if we can inspire more people with fun and interesting features about our friends in the Co Chocolat Community.
Could you be our next featured member?
Attention chocolate lovers! The first 5 golden tickets have been released! Purchase our delightful 65Grams Chocolate bars and stand a chance to win an exclusive Chocolate Factory Tour with your beloved!
Every week, we'll be hiding 5 golden tickets in our 65 grams Chocolate Bars across our Online Shop, Co Chocolat, and Candylicious!
Get ready for an adventure like no other and experience the magic behind the creation of your favorite chocolates! Will you be one of the lucky winners?
Hint 1: It can be in any of the flavors. Keep an eye out for the golden ticket!
]]>
This month we shine our spotlight on Mariona Coderch López, an Empowerment Humanitarian Educator and a Certified Healthy Chocolover. She is a cherished member of the Co community.
Curious to learn more about Mariona, we asked her a few questions:
1. How should we describe your work/your vocation/your passion? And what do you find most fulfilling about it?
I am currently serving as Middle & High School Principal at Makers Learning School International, where we strive to empower female students to become thoughtful and independent visionaries. I joined MLS International after introducing the IB Career-related Programme at GEMS International School - Al Khail, where I implemented specializations in Business and Creative Media with Pearson International BTEC and in Aviation, Aeronautics, Engineering and STEM by partnering our school with the prestigious Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida. I have also taught IB DP Psychology and IB DP Theory of Knowledge, amongst others.
However, whatever my role has been, throughout my career in education, my passion has always remained the same; that is to bring my grain of sand in making the world a better place by inspiring teenagers to make a positive impact in our fragile world. I believe that teachers shape the future of humanity with every student that they touch. It is an enormous responsibility to be in front of minors daily because students are highly impressionable. For this reason, I take my interactions with students very seriously. While our impact may not be immediately noticeable, it does come back eventually. Sometimes, it takes students to graduate and come back to visit to see the real impact that has been made upon them. Then, it all becomes worth it.
2. Can you tell us about your journey from a career in communication and marketing to becoming an educator? What motivated you to make this transition?
Growing up, I was always inclined to the arts, humanities, and literature. For a long time, I envisioned myself as a teacher of one of these subjects. However, it was not a career that had been explored within my family previously and so I finally pursued Journalism and specialized in Online Communication and Marketing. A few years into my marketing career for fashion and luxury brands, I felt empty. My day’s work did not fulfill me and so I took on a deep journey of honest reflection… which took me back to my roots. This is when I decided to become a teacher. I moved 500 kilometers away from my very supportive husband to pursue my Masters in Teaching Secondary, Specialized in Humanities at Universidad de Navarra. This was the most rewarding academic experience of my life. I was highly motivated and invested and I became one of the top students of my cohort.
3. Can you share a particularly rewarding experience or success story that you've had as an educator, where you felt you made a significant positive impact on a student's life?
Due to confidentiality reasons, I cannot share too many details with regard to student information. I can say that when students come back to visit upon graduating, or when they achieve a major milestone (whatever that may be for them, as every student has their own aspirations and challenges to face), something inside tells me it has all been worth it.
I see my students as “my” children. I feel a sense of responsibility when they fall short and pride when I see their accomplishments. Over two years ago, I had a student say to me “Ms, I want to become a film director” when he signed up for the IB Career-related Programme specialized in Creative Media… When the acceptance letter from the renowned Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) came through, I had goosebumps and could not wait to congratulate him in person. He promised he will invite me to the Oscars Awards ceremony when he is nominated in a few years - Inshallah!
4. How did you know about Co Chocolat?
I encountered Co Chocolat for the first time when I went to one of my regular Tibetan Singing Bowls Meditation sessions at SEVA Experience when you had a pop-up store set up. I immediately fell in love with the philosophy of the brand… From the fact that many products are gluten-free to the idea of supporting farmers ethically.
Although raised in Dallas, my natal city is Barcelona, where I used to ensure that my coffee and chocolate were ethically sourced. When I moved to Dubai, I wanted to continue purchasing ethically. With Co Chocolat, I have been able to continue supporting cacao farmers.
Meanwhile, due to chronic medical issues, I have gone gluten-free for the past 3 years. While I am not gluten intolerant or celiac, I feel better when I avoid gluten. At times, some gluten-free products can be full of other ingredients that are not so healthy to eat, defeating the whole purpose of my goal to avoid gluten. However, Co Chocolat’s ingredients are natural and easy to understand as a consumer. The trust that Co Chocolat transmits has made every bite tastier for me.
5. You have been such a silent supporter of Co Chocolat, can you tell us what are your favorite products?
My favorite products are the Affogato Chocolate Bar and the Peanut Butter Crunch Mousse Cake.
6. What do your passions/hobbies outside of work?
Outside of work I enjoy working out and traveling.
My husband and I recently traveled to Uganda and visited the endangered gorillas at the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park. It was humbling to see how similar we are to gorillas and how much we can learn from their kindness toward each other. I was shocked to learn that gorillas mourn and that mothers carry their deceased babies until they disintegrate. I am a big advocate of Mother Nature and strongly believe that it is our responsibility to learn and care for the environment. With these gorilla trekkings, benefits go to supporting the conservation of this endangered species by training and hiring rangers, vets, and other professionals.
Meanwhile, I try to stay balanced by working 3 to 5 days a week. I like to take 1-hour power walks and do SWEAT with Kayla. These moments help me reset my mind and feel energized.
Those fun encounters with our customers that started with chocolates and food eventually led to interesting, and inspiring conversations. We discovered their passions through these exchanges and with our community growing bigger and more diverse each day, we figured it would just be awesome if we can inspire more people with fun and interesting features about our friends in the Co Chocolat Community.
Could you be our next featured member?
With just a few months left before Hollywood heartthrob Timothée Chalamet reprises the role of Willy Wonka on the big screen, we found golden tickets tucked right here in a chocolate factory in the UAE.
Homegrown UAE brand Co Chocolat has just released their own golden tickets which allows every month five lucky winners to join their highly popular Factory Tour and Chocolatemaking at their chocolate factory in Warsan 3, Dubai. Every month, they are discreetly tucking away five golden tickets within the wrappers of their 65-gram Chocolate Bars. Since they started selling online in 2019, chocolate enthusiasts have enjoyed fine flavor chocolates offered in unique and never-before-heard of flavors and choco products; flavors like Japanese Green Tea Matcha with Moringa called “Eat Your Greens”, Turmeric with Black Pepper called “Gold Bar” and a bestseller called “That Skinny” which has chestnuts, almonds and uses coconut sugar so it’s diabetic-friendly.
“We often get asked by kids during our tours if this is where Willy Wonka lives and I tell them a real Willy Wonka is here. A female! Then I point to my sister who is the one who creates all the crazy recipes and ideas,” Iman Suguitan, Co-Founder tells us.
Their very own Willy Wonka is actually Maitre Chocolatier Luchie Suguitan, a female chef who studied bean-to-bar chocolate-making in the USA and specialized in France and is also a cacao farming advocate. Though she may not be as eccentric as the Willy we know from the movies, she has her share of inventions and peculiarities. We asked Chef Luchie what so far has been her quirkiest creations: “That will be when I put anchovies on chocolates as a limited edition choco bar during the Dubai Expo. Then right now, I made hot chocolate which makes people relax and forget about their worries! I put herbs like ashwaganda and maca in there,” she tells us with a twinkle in her eye.
True enough you’ll see them in their retail shop alongside chocolates that also make people get “Laser Focus” and chocolate bars that are “High on Happy.”
We asked them how until when are they running the golden tickets and they tell us until December when the new Willy Wonka movie comes out.
Now while this 2023 rendition of the 1963 book by Roald Dahl promises the same magical characters, audiences are promised to see something fresh and new as they “discover how Will became Wonka”. True to the spirit of this generation, the movie will look at Will’s eccentricities and passion to challenge the chocolate cartels, as the trailer says. This resonates much with the co-founders of Co Chocolat who touts their brand to offer finally, truly healthy chocolates.
“Chocolate making is all about creating happiness through this brown piece of heaven, but I’m pretty excited about this supposed prequel of the movie because it tackles issues that people were not discussing before. For us here in the UAE, we share with kids and adults who visit the factory how this happiness can be shared both by customers and cocoa farmers. This is what you call ethical chocolates. If we are able to bridge that gap, then here is where the real magic happens.”
As the first Farm-to-Table Chocolate Factory in the Middle East, Co Chocolat offers an indoor experience of the journey of cocoa beans from their very own cocoa farms in Mindanao all the way to the table as chocolate bars, spreads, drinks, baked goods and kitchen essentials. Customers are able to dine in and make their own chocolates, or go for interactive tours where they explore every step of the process including how farmers are significantly benefited by customers’ chocolate choices. Generous tastings of different types and forms of chocolates including the fresh cacao fruit ultimately tell visitors how chocolates are actually great for the body.
If Willy were indeed to come to the UAE right now, I guess he’d be proud to see we’re doing something different here, for indeed, “We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.”
Link here for Images
Link here for Videos
About Co Chocolat
Co-founders Luchie and Iman are certified “Cacao Doctors” after they were able to directly grow cacao trees in their farm after one year of graduation in 2015. They co-founded the social enterprise www.OFWparasaMagsasaka.com in 2016 and continue to empower farmers through healthy chocolates. Their farm-to-table factory is in Warsan 3, Dubai.
Chef Luchie as she is now called by her team of chocolatiers, not only dictates roasting profiles at the cacao farm level, but she also creates all the recipes that Co Chocolat creates here in the UAE. She accomplished her chocolate education in the USA for bean-to-bar chocolate-making and furthered it by attending the school of Valrhona, France in Tain L’Armitage making her the UAE’s first and only maître chocolatier from farm-to-bar. People will see her in action in the factory and on school tours and will have dedicated time to talk to the youth about being both a social entrepreneur and a professional chef.
Instagram: @co_chocolat
Website: www.cochocolat.com
For more info and images/videos:
Whatsapp and Mobile: Iman Suguitan – +971526931041 or Paula - +971582986871
Email: info@cochocolat.com
###
]]>
So there are seventy-two hours left before we find out if Co Chocolat is one of the two winning brands in StartAD’s Manassah competition. The prize from Aldar is up to 1 million dirhams worth of fitout budget and a year’s free rental in one of their properties in Abu Dhabi.
The Arabic word manassah means “platform” and out of 360 small businesses all over the Middle East which applied in August last year, the final round is now down to the last eight brands – four of which are non-food brands and the other four being food and beverage (F&B)concepts.
I still cannot believe we’ve made it this far in this incubation program. I filled out the application form on my mobile literally a few hours before the last day while I lie in bed putting my three-year-old to sleep. This reminds me of a beautiful saying by 18th-century jurist Imam Shafi’i:
"My heart is at ease knowing that what was meant for me will never miss me, and that what misses me was never meant for me."
My sister Luchie and I have never been in an incubation program, but not because we didn’t try. Spinney’s broke our hearts when we didn’t even qualify in the first round of their incubation program back in 2020, but just a little. We who create small businesses (or should I say micro), especially middle-class citizens, eat humble pie quite too often so we don’t get fazed easily. I distinctly remember Luchie coming home one day from her cycling practice in 2016 fuming so that I could almost see smoke coming out of her ears. One of the people who heard her talking about our idea of the cacao social enterprise which will be the backbone of our chocolate business remarked, “I do not think your plan will succeed. There will not be enough people who will be interested in such a concept.”
“WHAT? Who. Is. This?” Right?
Several years later we found out that that same guy launched his own chocolate brand. A-ha.
Thank God that for every villain like him, we’ve met a hundred heroes. The Manassah program was where we found many real-life inspirations; a platform that cultivates positivity, growth, and what we felt was the greatest take-home for us from almost five months of working with them… FOCUS and DISCIPLINE.
There were sixteen brands in the elimination round. To get into the incubation program, we each had to create an impressive pitch deck that summarized our entire business – brand purpose, market, products, positioning, financials, and plans for the future in an attractive and branded PowerPoint. In under FOUR MINUTES. We underwent a week-long boot camp in September last year which discussed value proposition, marketing, profit and loss, mind-setting, and even how to wow an audience when it’s time to pitch! We drove every day from our home in Al Rashidiya in Dubai to New York University in AUH. Our evenings before finally going home were spent in our factory in construction in Al Warsan. It was mad adrenaline for a week but it felt so good.
Co Chocolat alhamdulillah got in the magic eight and for almost three months since November, we gave three to four hours of the most manic day of the week, Monday, for the incubation sessions online.
So here we are now, at the precipice of something that could be HUGE, or we could also NOT win when they announced it on January 26, 2023. I greatly respect these entrepreneurs who’ve reached the finals, and we wish them only the very best.
Whatever happens, we are already winners. We had the best mentors in the Middle East and we also gained not just classmates, but hopefully life-long friends.
Wish us luck insha’Allah and if we win, it’ll be all over our Instagram account. If not, we'd of course be heartbroken a little, but we will be grateful souls looking for the next adventure. We hope you continue the next one with us! Say CACAO!
Warmest,
Iman
As temperatures rise in the UAE and chocolovers look for something unique and chocolatey, we tried cooling it with cacao when the first farm-to-table chocolate brand in the region invited us to try these refreshing blends.
The Mexican vibe of tamarind and various citrus fruits combined with steeped single-origin cacao bean husks make these drinks a must-try this summer. The tea husk or skin of the cacao bean comes from Co Chocolat’s very own social enterprise. Co-founder and maitre chocolatier Luchie Suguitan told us, “People love iced tea but we wanted people to have a healthier yet chocolatey alternative in this very warm weather. We figured since we supply the same cacao husk to a luxury hotel resort in the UAE for their tea infusions, why not create our own blends and offer it to our retail customers.”
They are available for dine-in, take-away, and pick-up in Co Chocolat’s boutique cafe inside the Co Chocolat Factory in Warsan 3.
Iced tea never tasted this chocolatey, and healthy, with these refreshing new blends from Co Chocolat.
Flavors available:
Calories per serving: 193g
Calories per serving: 51.4g
Health Benefits of Cacao Husks
Aside from its delicious chocolate flavor, one of the best reasons to enjoy a Cacao Husk Tea is its many potential health benefits, including:
Link here for Images
Link here for Videos
About Co Chocolat
Co-founders Luchie and Iman are certified “Cacao Doctors” after they were able to directly grow cacao trees in their farm after one year of graduation in 2015. They co-founded the social enterprise www.OFWparasaMagsasaka.com in 2016 and continue to empower farmers through healthy chocolates. Their farm-to-table factory is in Warsan 3, Dubai.
Chef Luchie as she is now called by her team of chocolatiers, not only dictates roasting profiles at the cacao farm level, but she also creates all the recipes that Co Chocolat creates here in the UAE. She accomplished her chocolate education in the USA for bean-to-bar chocolate-making and furthered it by attending the school of Valrhona, France in Tain L’Armitage making her the UAE’s first and only maître chocolatier from farm-to-bar. People will see her in action in the factory and on school tours and will have dedicated time to talk to the youth about being both a social entrepreneur and a professional chef.
Instagram: @co_chocolat
Website: www.cochocolat.com
For more info and images/videos:
Whatsapp and Mobile: Iman Suguitan – +971526931041 or Paula - +971582986871
Email: info@cochocolat.com
###
Those fun encounters with our customers that started with chocolates and food eventually led to interesting, and inspiring conversations. We discovered their passions through these exchanges and with our community growing bigger and more diverse each day, we figured it would just be awesome if we can inspire more people with fun and interesting features about our friends in the Co Chocolat Community.
Could you be our next featured member?
Co Chocolat Chocolate Factory, the Middle East's first farm-to-table chocolate factory, is excited to offer a unique and interactive experience that takes visitors on a delicious journey from their farms in Agusan del Sur to the table. With a commitment to quality, sustainability, and education, Co Chocolat invites the public to indulge in the art of chocolate-making.
Co Chocolat Chocolate Factory provides visitors with an immersive and educational journey into the world of chocolate-making. Knowledgeable guides accompany guests, providing detailed explanations of each step, from the harvesting of cocoa beans to the creation of the final products. With three distinct tour options, there is something for everyone to enjoy:
Co Chocolat’s commitment ensures the highest quality of chocolate with no added preservatives or artificial flavors. By supporting local farmers and providing fair pay for their hard work, Co Chocolat Chocolate Factory contributes to sustainable and ethical practices in the chocolate industry.
They welcome the public to experience the delicious journey of cocoa beans from their farms in Agusan del Sur to the table. The factory is open for public tours from Thursdays to Sundays, offering an unforgettable opportunity to taste and learn about the art of chocolate-making.
Link for images can be found HERE.
Link for the Instagram reel can be found HERE.
About Co Chocolat
Co Chocolat is a farm-to-table, single-origin, artisanal, handcrafted chocolate brand. It is a women-led, homegrown UAE, family-run brand.
Co-founders and sisters Luchie and Iman are certified “Cacao Doctors” after they were able to directly grow cacao trees in their farm after one year of graduation in 2015. They co-founded the social enterprise www.OFWparasaMagsasaka.com in 2016 and continue to empower farmers through healthy chocolates.
Chef Luchie as she is now called by her team of chocolatiers, not only dictates roasting profiles at cacao farm level, but she also creates all the recipes that Co Chocolat produces here in the UAE. She accomplished her chocolate education in the USA for bean-to-bar chocolate-making and furthered it by attending the school of Valrhona, France in Tain L’Armitage making her the UAE’s first and only maître chocolatier from farm-to-bar.
Instagram: @co_chocolat
Website: www.cochocolat.com
For more info and images/videos:
Whatsapp and Mobile:
Iman Suguitan +971526931041
Paula +971582986871
Email: info@cochocolat.com
###
]]>Co Chocolat releases limited edition UBE a.k.a. purple yam chocolate bars in two exotic flavors.
Homegrown UAE, ethical chocolate brand Co Chocolat introduces its limited edition chocolate bars featuring Purple Yam, a.k.a. UBE in Southeast Asia where this delicious, exotic rootcrop is commonly used as a traditonal dessert ingredient. These chocolate bars come in two new flavors: "Ooh Bae in the Tropics" and "Ooh Bae, My Heart". Made with white chocolate infused with Ube, these bars offer a range of health benefits.
Purple yams are an excellent source of carbs, potassium, and vitamin C, as well as phytonutrients and anthocyanins that have powerful antioxidant properties, helping to protect against cell damage and reduce the risk of cancer. The flavonoids found in purple yams may also help regulate blood sugar in people with type 2 diabetes.
In two delightful flavors:
Ingredients: Cacao Butter, milk powder, cane sugar, dehydrated purple yam, and dehydrated coconut chips.
Available in 65 grams
Ingredients: Cacao Butter, milk powder, cane sugar, dehydrated purple yam and black sesame seeds.
Available in 65 grams
Available to order online at www.cochocolat.com or in their physical shops in the Dubai Mall, Sharjah Ladies Club or in their factory in Warsan 3.
Link for images
Link for the Instagram reel
About Co Chocolat
Co Chocolat is a farm-to-table, single-origin, artisanal, handcrafted chocolate brand. It is a women-led, homegrown UAE, family-run brand.
Co-founders and sisters Luchie and Iman are certified “Cacao Doctors” after they were able to directly grow cacao trees in their farm after one year of graduation in 2015. They co-founded the social enterprise www.OFWparasaMagsasaka.com in 2016 and continue to empower farmers through healthy chocolates.
Chef Luchie as she is now called by her team of chocolatiers, not only dictates roasting profiles at the cacao farm level, but she also creates all the recipes that Co Chocolat produces here in the UAE. She accomplished her chocolate education in the USA for bean-to-bar chocolate-making and furthered it by attending the school of Valrhona, France in Tain L’Armitage making her the UAE’s first and only maître chocolatier from farm-to-bar.
Instagram: @co_chocolat
Website: www.cochocolat.com
For more info and images/videos:
Whatsapp and Mobile:
Iman Suguitan +971526931041
Paula +971582986871
Email: info@cochocolat.com
]]>Whether fasting this Ramadan or simply a fit foodie, these dark hot chocolate with adaptogens are perfect to improve mood, skin and gut health.
Co Chocolat released this winter a new line of traditional hot cocoa that includes five adaptogenic herbs. These are perfect for people who are looking after their gut health specially after fasting, on keto or low-carb diet, or even those who simply wish to enjoy cacao as a daily health drink. What’s truly exciting about these new adaptogenic hot cocoa is they give the added benefit of adaptogens as it manages external stresses to the body.
What are adaptogens? They are plant substances (typically herbs) that have been discovered to assist human bodies in managing stress and maintaining balance or homeostasis. In other words, they aid in the adaptation to environmental stimuli. Adaptogens can boost energy, calm mood, and improve performance and concentration by improving our internal systems. With these adaptogens added to cacao, which is already a superfood that is full of magnesium and is the highest source of plant-based iron, chocoholics will be in for a real treat.
In 2019, co-founder sisters Luchie and Iman Suguitan shifted the drinking chocolate scene in the UAE when Co Chocolat introduced pure cacao tablets as a pantry item that can be enjoyed at home. They used slow, medium roasted cacao and made these tablets devoid of palm oil and emulsifiers. They already have five flavors which come in vegan and cane sugar-free options and has a light consistency after being whisked with freshly-boiled water. Their hot cocoa drinks are very mildly sweetened so they are delightful to drink even on the hottest days in the UAE. Their aim is to bring back cacao as a staple health drink, which is something the ancient Aztecs and Mayans were known for. The latter were the first people to discover the delicious flavor produced when seeds of the cocoa pods are dried and roasted. Cacao was held in such high esteem in those days that they called it “food of the gods” or theobroma cacao. The Mayans were also the first to make hot chocolate by cooking crushed cacao, cashew and chili together and drank it to build stamina. Unknown to many, the word “chocolate” came from the Mayan word “xocolatl” which meant “bitter water”.
Co Chocolat now introduces three new flavors with community herbalist and kundalini teacher Julie Evans. We asked what the inspiration was for creating these new flavors and maître chocolatier Luchie Suguitan told us, "My sister used to take ashwagandha tablets years ago to manage anxiety so this herb is very familiar to us. While I know red ginseng to be a staple in Eastern medicine when it comes to building immunity and increasing energy. We consulted with Julie about doses and a year later, here we are. We really take seriously our promise of delivering deliciously healthy chocolates."
How to make them? Put 3 tablets (30 grams) on 200 ml of freshly boiled water. Whisk for a minute and enjoy.
Adaptogenic Hot Choco Bullet Points:
50% Dark hot choco with ashwaganda, maca, and vanilla beans.
Adaptogenic, Vegan, GF, Cane Sugar-free, Soy-free. Contains 100 mg of Ashwaganda and Maca per 1 serving of hot chocolatl (3 tablets = 30 grams)
Adaptogens like Maca and Ashwagandha boost the body's well-being and reduce inflammation, as well as aid in the connection between the nervous and immune systems. Vanilla bean extract is a remedy for stress and anxiety. It makes sense that taking these two herbs together, maca for its energy-increasing effects, and ashwagandha for its positive effects on muscle mass, could be a great natural performance-boosting combination.
Blurb: Keep Calm, Drink Me is the perfect drink for those days when you simply need to keep your cool.
Per 30 gram serving, 142 Calories (kcal) from fat.
Rose-infused dark chocolate hot cocoa with 7 grams collagen per 30 gram serving. This new hot cocoa variant from our new adaptogenic line is rich in antioxidants and anti-aging properties. It is extremely beneficial to the digestive system and also aids in the maintenance of liver health.
Rose Oil stimulates the circulation of blood to all the organs, keeping your body healthy. It can protect from viral and bacterial infections that occur internally and externally. It is also a powerful aphrodisiac and can bring back libido.
Collagen is a protein in the body that makes up many tissues and organs. Supplementing with the protein may help preserve skin health, muscle mass, bones, and joints.
Blurb: A little bit of Rose, a dash of Collagen, a sprinkle of Happiness and a whole lot of chocolates. La Vie En Rose.
Per 30 gram serving, 152 Calories (kcal) from fat.
Orange infused 50% dark chocolate with Korean Red Ginseng extract.
200 mg of Korean Red Ginseng Root Extract per 1 serving of hot chocolatl (3 tablets = 30 grams). Vegan.
Orange essential oil has many health benefits, including anti-inflammatory, anti-depressant, and more. Red Ginseng has many benefits to your body including improving your immune system, control your blood sugar levels, and improve concentration.
Blurb: The drink you need when there are a million things going on around you and you just want to zoom in on one thing.
Per 30 gram serving, 144 Calories (kcal) from fat.
Link here for Images
Link here for Videos
About Co Chocolat
Co-founders Luchie and Iman are certified “Cacao Doctors” after they were able to directly grow cacao trees in their farm after one year of graduation in 2015. They co-founded the social enterprise www.OFWparasaMagsasaka.com in 2016 and continue to empower farmers through healthy chocolates. Their farm-to-table factory is in Warsan 3, Dubai.
Chef Luchie as she is now called by her team of chocolatiers, not only dictates roasting profiles at the cacao farm level, but she also creates all the recipes that Co Chocolat creates here in the UAE. She accomplished her chocolate education in the USA for bean-to-bar chocolate-making and furthered it by attending the school of Valrhona, France in Tain L’Armitage making her the UAE’s first and only maître chocolatier from farm-to-bar. People will see her in action in the factory and on school tours and will have dedicated time to talk to the youth about being both a social entrepreneur and a professional chef.
Co Chocolat is a brand of Seeds Castle Food Manufacturing LLC. Seeds Castle is owned by Luchie Suguitan, Iman Suguitan both Filipino nationals and Fahad bin Jumaa of KSA.
Instagram: @co_chocolat
Website: www.cochocolat.com
For more info and images/videos:
Whatsapp and Mobile: Iman Suguitan – +971526931041 or Paula - +971582986871
Email: info@cochocolat.com
###
Those fun encounters with our customers that started with chocolates and food eventually led to interesting, and inspiring conversations. We discovered their passions through these exchanges and with our community growing bigger and more diverse each day, we figured it would just be awesome if we can inspire more people with fun and interesting features about our friends in the Co Chocolat Community.
Could you be our next featured member?
Co Community Feature of the Month
What do they all have in common? The same values and love for honestly good chocolates while they too want our cacao farmers to prosper.
Those fun encounters with our customers that started with chocolates and food eventually led to interesting, and inspiring conversations. We discovered their passions through these exchanges and with our community growing bigger and more diverse each day, we figured it would just be awesome if we can inspire more people with fun and interesting features about our friends in the Co Chocolat Community.
Could you be our next featured member?
Two weeks ago just before Ramadan, I had intended to talk about this seasonal Ramadan product I saw in Carrefour. Loved the packaging, hated the chocolates, loved the toy:
I loved the shape, the carton and even thinking of something similar in the future as our market grows at Co, but where it went down the drain was when I tasted the chocolates inside. Subhanallah, how can people eat this? Just soooo sweet and so creamy that I’m sure if I didn’t drink enough water I’d probably end up with tonsilitis, and I am one who has a sweet tooth! AND to think, this is marketed for KIDS. For KIDS!
And we still wonder why there is an addiction to refined sugar as early as five years? Why there are so many cases of diabetes and comorbidities stroke, heart attack, kidney diseases. Sadly there are still no laws controlling the excessive use of refined sugar and hyper-sugars. We as a society scoff at people when they’re already obese and are struggling to get out of the ‘addiction’. Now if we look at the medical system specially Western medicine, it is BENT on the cure and not the prevention, because there is money in medicines.. a lot of money. Healthy people don’t spend much on hospital bills and medicines, sick people do. However, we as individuals CAN be the change that we want to see.
I remember the face of one parent who did one of our tours in the factory when I talked about how we as parents can actually wreck our kids’ palates early in their lives.
As I let them taste what chocolates are like with 37% cacao, real nuts and reduced sugar, their kid said it was too dark, so I candidly remarked, “When kids become addicted to sugary junk, who taught them what to eat? We chose FOR OUR KIDS what they ate when they’re young, they had no choice what we bought and fed them when they’re 3, 4 years old. WE trained their tastebuds.” And I saw this mom’s reaction; one moment she was smiling, next she was not. Maybe I hit a chord there.
The world does not consider diabetes a global pandemic that needs urgent attention, even though it kills millions yearly directly and indirectly, and creates havoc in the society. Simply because there is a lot of money in refined sugar, hyper-refined sugar and highly processed carbohydrates. It’s too commercially good (for a few) to be stopped, while families suffer from too many co-morbidities. Just two days ago, my old boss from medical research messaged me, “Remember AXXXX? Did you work with him when you were still here?”
“Yes, I did. He was internal medicine resident when I was there,” I replied.
“He died last week. He was 52.”
“What? HOW?”
“He was on dialysis, then had a stroke, eventually pneumonia and went on septic shock.”
I remember AXXXXX though we worked together for about a year from two decades ago. I remember he told me once that their maid eats with them in their meals, because the maid is part of the family. He was that kind of guy. He had Type 2 diabetes.
All this may sound gloomy on this wonderful, hazy Monday morning but let me assure you: I am thankful! I write this with an impassioned mission. I am thankful that my mother is alive and she still gives advise when she is clear, despite her dementia. Alhamdulillah that we altered my mother’s diet, we got to control her diabetes and she is not on dialysis. Alhamdulillah. Twelve years ago, our nephro (kidney specialist) told me that I should be realistic looking at the prognosis of her kidneys. Her life expectancy charts show ten years if there are no medical events. She said Mama’s left kidney was much smaller than the right.. it was functioning at 32%. I cried alone that afternoon and did I not tell my mother anymore. I’m glad I didn’t because she has already exceeded by two years the life expectancy predicted for her. Mama is nearly 75 now. Alhamdulillah. Before the fall two weeks ago, though limping on the left side, she somehow, kinda-sorta-played by badminton. 😊 We would cheer her on if she hit twice and rallied.
So there is a lot of HOPE.. 😊 for us who have family members with a cardiovascular disease and, for us who have a child/children whose food choices later in life will likely depend on how we train their palates and their gut now. Let our fears make us choose better. And though I have medical background and many of my life-long friends are doctors, they don’t hold our destinies. They are not God and though they are very helpful in curing, we have to rely on ourselves on good nutrition and a balanced life to ensure a life well lived.
My mother aside from being a voracious eater in her younger days, also was quick to anger. She rarely took days off and she never had a day of spa, or went on vacation mode. She was just always on work mode I feel, always advising “don’t have too much fun because that’s when accidents happen,” and though this has a lot of wisdom that kept us away from accidents, I personally just had to go skydiving on my second year in Dubai! She could not fathom why Luchie and I both loved the adrenaline rush. This time around we are the ones teaching her the art of doing nothing. Balance.
This Ramadan we have decided as a family to go on super-mindful iftars after our fast. Nothing fried, totally no refined sugars, more veggies, more salads. No buffets! Eating less to gain more 😊
If you haven’t tried the Islamic way of fasting, try it for all its health reasons. Jennifer Aniston goes on intermittent fast, so does Scarlett Johansson. This is the best time to try it because people around you are likely to be fasting.
If you’re a Muslim, this is the month for fasting our stomachs and our tongues, and just being even kinder and more generous. Here is a beautiful daily series from Yaqeen Institute that gives an amazing reminder of Jannah.
May the rest of our Ramadan be filled with kindness, family and spirituality, and may our fasts and good deeds be accepted by the One from Whom all bounties come. Ramadan Mubarak!
Iman
]]>
Hello friends, Happy Women’s Month! This is Iman, co-founder here at Co. It gives me great honour to introduce, probably, the most impressive community feature we’ve chosen to date. All our community features, since we started two years ago, are all inspirational no doubt! However, our spotlight this month, and you’ll have to pardon me in advance should I be politically incorrect, is simply one in a million. She is someone who makes me feel grateful, challenged, impressed, inspired, melancholic(yes!) all at the same time. Because while we as a community complain about myriad issues in the society, and as individuals tend to make excuses for procrastinating, and I personally are impatient with the smallest body pain, I had the pleasure of seeing in action and becoming friends with Ms. Leslie Pableo - a photojournalist, documentary photographer, PR person, and wheelchair-bound for almost two years.
My sister Luchie was the one who has been dealing with Leslie and her production company Reel Dunes since 2019. When I met Leslie only in 2021, I did not expect she’d be in a wheelchair. Why? Because she always sounded on the phone so… normal. She is so on-top-of-things. I thought that the wheelchair was just temporary but the next time I saw her a year later, she continued to be in a wheelchair. That meeting was with her as the director and producer of a video shoot which she was pitching for a major TV outlet. She managed the shoot with her team like a pro! I was so very impressed. She visited us in the opening of our café last month and so this time, we did the interviewing:
1. Tell us about your company and your role in it.
I am a freelance photojournalist working mostly for The National News newspaper. I am also managing partner at Reel Dunes Productions. We do film productions, TV commercials, PR and marketing.
2. You have been suffering from a spinal injury and are wheelchair-bound. How did it happen?
I have been wheelchair-bound since mid-2021. I have been diagnosed with spinal stenosis and calsification of my spinal column. This means there’s bone growth on my spine which pinched my spinal cord. Plus it did not help that i am a photographer and I used to carry heavy camera equipment most of my life. I could say that I was not really taking care of my back/self when I was younger so when I hit the big 5-0 every disease on my back and joints just came out.
3. But you continue to work so hard, maybe even more than the average person, how do you do it?
I was depressed for a while because I was active most of my life, and then being limited to a wheelchair… that's a lot to swallow. But I find strength from my husband, family, friends and even from the company I am working in now. They encourage and trust me to do my passion… which is being a photographer.
4. What keeps you motivated?
That my disability does not define me. It also helps a lot that the UAE government encourages and supports people like me and empowers us so that we can achieve anything we set our minds into and we live with dignity. These keep me motivated.
5. What have you planned for the future?
This year, the back surgery and rehab. Maybe next year would be traveling around the world 😁
6. Words to both women and men who are going through a challenging period in their personal lives or their professional lives?
It's okay not to be okay, you can allow yourself that but after that pick up yourself. Talk to your family, friends and watch a lot of K-Dramas.
7. What are your favorite Co products?
I love their cookies so much, also the hot choco and choco bars. Also I really like the packaging.
Co Community Feature of the Month
What do they all have in common? The same values and love for honestly good chocolates while they too want our cacao farmers to prosper.
Those fun encounters with our customers that started with chocolates and food eventually led to interesting, and inspiring conversations. We discovered their passions through these exchanges and with our community growing bigger and more diverse each day, we figured it would just be awesome if we can inspire more people with fun and interesting features about our friends in the Co Chocolat Community.
Could you be our next featured member?
About eight years ago I read Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point. It was probably the abridged version that I picked up, that I finished reading this tiny book while waiting for a friend in the old Kinokuniya bookshop in Dubai Mall. It basically said that businesses have a tipping point; that magical moment in time when something becomes a hit, viral, an epidemic and everyone’s just on it, consuming it, or wanting to be on it. The author gave a lot of examples from crime rates, and diseases, to commercial brands. I remember he cited the case of Vans shoes. After years that Vans was trying to make their brand a hit, the day finally came when everyone who WAS cool and everyone who WANTED to be cool was wearing Vans. At that time, I was in my fifth year running my first business Ahsant Premium Hotel Supplies, and I wondered, When will this tipping point come for Ahsant?
The year after I read this book, we won Best Middle East Hotel Supplies Partner in the Hotel Show. But it still wasn’t quite the tipping point I expected in terms of sales. The tipping point came for my corporate business in 2018, after I overhauled our entire visual branding – changing all our business collaterals and investing in a small photo studio and an SLR camera to take photos of our products. It was precisely the same business, the same people running Ahsant but our photos were just crisper, fonts more precise, and brand colors minimal. That was the tipping point for my first business.
So when I created the branding of Co Chocolat back in 2017, I wondered, when will the tipping point come for Co Chocolat? That question especially rose to the fore when there were lots of challenges, especially when we wanted to buy nuts or fruits, or pay for the printer and we only had 250 DHS in the bank. Cashflow is the burden of all organically-growing businesses.
Fast forward to February of 2023, exactly four years after we launched Co Chocolat online.. exactly four years that we have been spreading the word about healthy chocolates and empowering farmers, we SEEMED to have reached our tipping point… at least in marketing. 😊
We officially opened the first Co Chocolat Café on Feb. 21 and it was unbelievable how we were on TV, radio, newspaper, online magazines, and news outlets all in the same six weeks! Maybe, as Malcolm Gladwell said, it’s those incremental details that helped it all come together.
For whatever caused this fabulous moment in time, we say alhamdulillah. We are truly blessed for having a community that supports us and an investor in the form of Fahad bin Jumaa who saw our huge potential. Thank you to our corporate partners who believe in healthy chocolates and empowering farmers. When the word Sustainability has become an it-word thrown around because it’s trendy, YOU make the concept a breathing, living, concrete thing.
Cheers to these truly cool companies: Six Senses Zighy Bay in Oman, ITP Media, Stories by Zenaida, Ritz Carlton Al Wadi, Dolce & Gabbana, IWC, Bloomberg, Versace, Sharjah Ladies Club, RAK Fine Arts, and these wonderful people: Omar Shihab and Doaa Tahboub, Faiza Khan, Emma Pearson, Nitya of Vogue Arabia, Leslie of Reel Dunes and a looooot more people like YOU, reading this now, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
So here you go, go ahead and savor this moment with us. Click and enjoy!
Two Weeks before we officially opened, we were included in Gault and Millau’s feature of the 6 local chocolatiers to gift from this Valentine’s - Read more here
Dubai One TV visited us on 3rd February. Ahmed Al Falasi was a true fit foodie! - Watch FULL Interview here
Nitya Chablani featured our Valentine Jewels in Vogue Arabia’s Valentine Gift Guide - Read FULL article here
While Punam Verma called us from Dubai Eye 103.8 - LISTEN to interview here.
Time Out announced the opening of our factory on February 17, 2023 - Read Here
We are on a broadsheet! The National News gave an incredible feature through Emma Pearson. - READ digital article here
We were also featured in Illustrado Magazine - READ article here
We are in Gulf Today page 5! - See Post here
And we have two more interviews coming out in the next 7 to 10 days.
Thank you! Looking forward to that tipping point in our sales soon! 😊
Say Cacao!
Iman
Four years after their online launch and with thousands of homes in the Middle East now enjoying healthy chocolates and drinks, homegrown-UAE, women-led, family-run brand Co Chocolat now opens its doors to the first farm-to-table chocolate factory in the Middle East.
Dubai, February 13, 2023 – It will be another proud first for the UAE as homegrown brand Co Chocolat, creators of farm-to-table, handcrafted, artisanal single-origin chocolates, officially opens its doors to the first farm-to-table chocolate factory in the Middle East on February 21, 2023.
Differentiating itself from typical chocolate companies, the factory which will be open to interactive tours will educate about chocolates right from its very source – cacao. Guests to the factory will not only see machines, take part in the chocolate-making process, and taste Co Chocolat’s many products, they will also get a chance to taste fresh cacao fruit. This is before the cocoa pod is even dried and roasted to become the main ingredient of chocolates. Their tours will also highlight how Co Chocolat’s mother company is a social enterprise that empowers farmers in the founders' native country, the Philippines.
Iman Suguitan, co-founder and head of marketing, says, “There is no better time than now to prepare our millennials who will be our future consumers about the importance of ethical sourcing. We cannot be luxuriating while halfway around the world somebody is suffering because of our luxury. At Co Chocolat, making truly ‘guilt-free’ food choices is imperative.”
Sister co-founders Iman and Luchie Suguitan started cacao farming in 2015 together with their diabetic mother who has survived several brain strokes and a heart attack. “The World Health Organization reports that about 422 million people worldwide now have diabetes. We thought of revolutionizing how chocolates are perceived and made by creating chocolates and desserts that are actually mouth-watering. Even if a person is diabetic, vegan, gluten-intolerant, or requires a specific diet, he should be able to safely enjoy delicious treats. In our research, we found that it all boils down to the choosing and handling of ingredients, and specifically for chocolates, it all starts with our beloved cacao. Although we have lived in the UAE for almost two decades, we spent time in the south of the Philippines where we learned to grow and rehabilitate cacao trees, and even mastered the fermentation and post-harvest process. These cacao trees we farmed then, and trees of other farmers who are part of our social enterprise, now give the cacao which we use in the chocolates we sell here in the UAE,” according to Luchie, who is COO and head of products.
The farm-to-table chocolate factory will also be the venue for the first chocolate and cacao school in the UAE. Chocolate Masterclasses where both newbie choco-enthusiasts and professional chocolatiers can learn and improve their craft beginning this May. Co Chocolat held with their community herbalist last week the very first “Xocolatl Workshop” which was all about creating natural, zero-chemical skincare products using cacao specifically high-grade cocoa butter.
Co Chocolat Farm-to-Table Factory Details:
Link here for Images
Link here for Videos
About Co Chocolat
Co-founders Luchie and Iman are certified “Cacao Doctors” after they were able to directly grow cacao trees in their farm after one year of graduation in 2015. They co-founded the social enterprise www.OFWparasaMagsasaka.com in 2016 and continue to empower farmers through healthy chocolates.
Chef Luchie as she is now called by her team of chocolatiers, not only dictates roasting profiles at the cacao farm level, but she also creates all the recipes that Co Chocolat creates here in the UAE. She accomplished her chocolate education in the USA for bean-to-bar chocolate-making and furthered it by attending the school of Valrhona, France in Tain L’Armitage making her the UAE’s first and only maître chocolatier from farm-to-bar. People will see her in action in the factory and on school tours and will have dedicated time to talk to the youth about being both a social entrepreneur and a professional chef.
Co Chocolat is a brand of Seeds Castle Food Manufacturing LLC. Seeds Castle is owned by Luchie Suguitan, Iman Suguitan both Filipino nationals and Fahad bin Jumaa of KSA.
Instagram: @co_chocolat
Website: www.cochocolat.com
For more info and images/videos:
Whatsapp and Mobile: Iman Suguitan – +971526931041 or Paula - +971582986871
Email: info@cochocolat.com or marketing01@seedscastle.com
###
]]>
These heart-shaped bonbons aren't just pretty with their many facets. Reduced-sugar and using all-natural ingredients make them a real gem your loved ones deserve this Valentine's. This is deliciously true luxury.
The freshest chocolate bonbons this side of the planet. We used fresh fruits 🍓🌿, NOT from concentrate. NO sorbitol (the preservative extending shelf life of chocolates). Whole cacao beans (of course!). Reduced sugar. With dairy.
Bonbon Flavors:
Red - Sour Cherry and Hazelnut
Pink - Classic Chocolate Ganache
Yellow - Mango Passion Fruit
Light blue - Caramel with Maldon Sea Salt
Violet - Darjeeling Tea
Brown - Mochaccino
About Co Chocolat
Co Chocolat is a farm-to-table, single-origin, artisanal, handcrafted chocolate brand. It is a women-led, homegrown-UAE, family-run brand.
Co-founders and sisters Luchie and Iman are certified “Cacao Doctors” after they were able to directly grow cacao trees in their farm after one year of graduation in 2015. They co-founded the social enterprise www.OFWparasaMagsasaka.com in 2016 and continue to empower farmers through healthy chocolates.
Chef Luchie as she is now called by her team of chocolatiers, not only dictates roasting profiles at cacao farm level, but she also creates all the recipes that Co Chocolat produces here in the UAE. She accomplished her chocolate education in the USA for bean-to-bar chocolate-making and furthered it by attending the school of Valrhona, France in Tain L’Armitage making her the UAE’s first and only maître chocolatier from farm-to-bar.
Instagram: @co_chocolat
Website: www.cochocolat.com
For more info and images/videos:
Whatsapp and Mobile:
Iman Suguitan +971526931041
Paula +971582986871
Email: info@cochocolat.com
###
]]>
7 Pleasantly Surprising Health Benefits of Dark Chocolate by Dr. Li William
Dark chocolate has long been thought of as a special treat to be saved for the occasional guilty pleasure or holiday. In this case, however, the indulgent taste is deceiving—dark chocolate containing 80 percent cacao or higher is packed with nutrients that can strengthen your body’s defense systems and positively affect your overall health. It is so outstanding, in fact, that it is on my list of jaw-dropping superfoods in my book, Eat to Beat Disease. Now, even though you may not need more convincing, let us dive into the pleasantly surprising benefits of dark chocolate.
You may have heard this benefit before—and it continues to ring true through vast research today. Epidemiologists have long-established a connection between consuming foods with flavanols—a potent antioxidant found in dark chocolate—and a lower incidence of death from cardiovascular disease.
2. This Treat Increases Good Gut Bacteria While Controlling the Bad
Researchers from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom studied specific bacteria affected by chocolate consumption by giving 22 healthy volunteers a beverage containing high-cocoa flavanols for four weeks. They found that this drink strikingly improved the ratio of good to harmful bacteria. There was an increase of beneficial Lactobacillus (by 17.5 times) and Bifidobacteria (by 3.6 times), and there was a decrease in harmful Clostridium histolyticum (by 2 times), a bacteria best known for causing gangrene.
3. It Can Reduce Stress
For stressed-out individuals, eating dark chocolate can reduce biomarkers of anxiety and stress in the body. Researchers at the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research designed a study that tested the effects of dark chocolate consumption on high-anxiety subjects. Participants received a medium-sized commercially available chocolate bar (Noir Intense, 74 percent dark) to eat every day. After two weeks, researchers found that levels of the stress markers cortisol and adrenaline had substantially decreased in their urine.
4. Dark Chocolate is Antiangiogenic
Scientists at the University of California at Davis have shown that bioactives called procyanidins in cocoa have potent antiangiogenic effects through their ability to stop the signals activating blood vessel cells. Research my group has conducted on cocoa powder showed that not all chocolate is the same. When we studied the antiangiogenic effect of cocoa from two different powder suppliers, one of the samples had twice the potency of the other.
5. It is a Stem Cell-Recruiting Food
With the help of over 750,000 stem cells, your body regenerates itself each and every day. Dark chocolate can mobilize your stem cells to carry out their job to the fullest. At the University of California, San Francisco, researchers found that participants who received a chocolate drink made with cocoa twice a day for thirty days had twice as many stem cells in their circulation as their control group.
6. Consumption of Dark Chocolate May Lower Diabetes Risk
As a sweet, chocolate is a confection containing saturated fat and processed sugar, two ingredients that are not healthy. But dark chocolate with high amounts of cocoa solids provides antioxidants, which mobilize stem cells, aid in blood sugar control, and reduce inflammation—all contributing to a reduced risk of diabetes.
7. Dark Chocolate Provides DNA Protection
DNA is your personal genetic blueprint that guides every aspect of your health. Yet, DNA is quite fragile and is the target of ferocious attacks throughout your life. Antioxidant compounds found in dark chocolate—like flavanols and other polyphenols—have been discovered to support DNA repair and strengthen your body’s regenerating abilities.
***
The health benefits of dark chocolate are both impressive and exciting. But before you make a mad dash to the candy aisle, remember that you must choose wisely—not all commercially available chocolate is nutrient-dense. Aim for at least 70 percent cacao and high levels of flavonoids. Check out my book Eat to Beat Disease to learn more about the impressive health benefits of dark chocolate and additional ways to use food to amplify your body’s ability to heal itself.
This article first appeared HERE.
]]>“There is a piece of flesh in the body that if it becomes good (reformed) the whole body becomes good but if it gets spoilt the whole body gets spoilt, and that is the heart.”
-An authentic hadeeth, Prophet Muhammad
Love. Nourish. Pamper. Your Heart. This February.
We have partnered with our community herbalist and Global Kundalini Teacher Julie Evans to bring you the most luxurious “heart-centered” workshop using power food cacao and real chocolates.
When: February 11, 2023
Time: 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM
In traditional Chinese medicine, the Heart Center is the Supreme Controller, the Emperor, the place of one-ness. Whether we admit it or not, our heart steers us through life – our feelings, our passions, decisions, the people we feel connected with. Memories are important because they trigger emotions, and we experience longing, melancholy, joy, excitement with our hearts just a nanosecond before our mind starts to operate.
This 2-hour Xocolatl Workshop – Xocolatl is how the Mayans called ancient cacao – is divided into three nourishing areas with only twelve attendees allowed:
Breath Work and Opening Up of the Heart
Before we begin to create chocolate magic for our face and body we will drink the finest ingredient: single estate, pure cacao from Co. We will tune into the spirit of this plant, the fine cacao beans, which are bursting full of magnesium. This will elevate the heart center, evoking passion and promoting self-love and worth. We will sip the drink from the seed and begin meditation or breath work for the heart center. Energetically opening up the heart will allow elevated energy move into this sacred muscle of our body. We will feel more present as happy hormones trickle into our brains and we feel connected. It also stimulates our immune system and best of all, this practice turns on creativity.
Handcraft your own and luxuriate on an all-natural skincare line by choosing to make three products (2 products listed below + 1 anointment oil) perfect for your skin-type which you will take home:
1. Gentle Cacao + Floral Facial scrub
Ingredients: grounded oats, cacao, almond powder, chamomile flowers.
2. Cacao antioxidant or deep nourish Face Mask
Ingredients: cacao, coconut oil, green tea powder or rose powder, kaolin clay powder (may vary depending on skin type and a choice of nourishment or detox mask.)
3. Body Butter - Xocolatl heaven
Ingredients: Cocoa butter and coconut oil -the finest and purest ingredients - so good you can eat it. For the body a natural antioxidant, nourishing, soothing, hydrating and moisturizing.
4. Heart Anointment oil
An oil blend specifically for the heart and to stay in the power of your heart, there is so much power and magic in the staying.
Drinks and Pastries
What is a Xocolatl Workshop without fine flavor chocolates to enjoy after the heart work?
Choose from Co Café’s hot or cold drinks and enjoy it with pastries with options of vegan, gluten-free, and cane sugar-free.
We have a dedicated activity room in the Co Chocolat Factory for our community to use. Limited spaces are available. The workshop is AED 250.
While sharing the goodness of Finally, Truly Healthy chocolates®, our community has grown as clients have become friends.
We got introduced to Jan Daudi as the world was just coming out from covid back in December of 2020. It was the MOTB - Burj Park festival and we had a pop up she wanted to visit with her kids. This was the time when everyone wore a mask, security people put thermometer to everyone’s foreheads and gatherings were very restricted. So coming all the way from Sharjah, she was told they could not enter. Thank God she did not take it against us and continued buying online until we met her in person in another pop up in 2022!
Our spotlight this month is on Jan Daudi – A published Communications Coach, a Mama… a powerhouse. She is not just a valued community member but a friend to us here at Co Chocolat.
We asked her a few questions:
So I developed a sense of wanting to express myself early on and not live in that very limiting mindset. I started to take acting at a young age and that was very good. I won a poem competition at the age of nine and my work was published in the same year, and that changed my life radically. At a very young age, I felt that the power of words and I wrote a poem about racism. I witnessed lots of racism, for myself and those in school, and used to always advocate for those who are bullied and to stand up for other people.
In my poem, I wrote about a racist incident and won, and that trajectory changed my life. I became more expressive, got onto psychological sciences and earned a degree. I became a journalist, earned my Masters and got certified from Cambridge University in communicating for impact and influence. I do presenter training and have my own live TV talk show in the UK.
As a mother of five children, I took a break from work to raise my kids. This was a priority for me.. to empower them and be present, and to develop the next generation. Now that I've come back to the workspace, I developed my own business for empowering women in communication. This is now my goal. I want to help them say what they mean, mean what they say, without being mean. For me, this means being authentic, accurate and amicable in communication.
It's about humanity and kindness. One can be powerful, outspoken without being mean and aggressive and dominating others.
From the women work with predominantly leadership positions, CEO's, activists and a lot of these ladies have problems showing their authentic female persona. They take on the hyper masculine wise (sic), in order to be taken seriously when facing harassment when facing male dominated environments. They feel that they female persona is a weakness and is often presented as such. Feminism for some women has meant that they need to copy a man or be a man; seen as equal to men in order to be powerful. And that's a mistake.
Women are hired in the United Nations for the highest conflict zones for peace negotiations because they have statistically higher results. Nurturing, being caring and having your feminine energy is very important for the world, and we shouldn’t see that as a weakness. This is the greatest challenge I find that women and girls are facing… to step into their feminine power and be accurate, authentic and humane.
Gender, social class and those other demographics that you mentioned definitely have impact on people's communications abilities and it's very specific to how people have been raised. So I noticed that, as I mentioned in my previous comments, the minority mindset is very toxic: this idea that “your voice doesn't matter. You are a lesser person. You are a second class citizen. You are a visitor to the country and you should be apologetic for taking advantage of opportunities. You don't belong and should go back.” All of this messaging is very harmful and damaging.
They cause people to accept the bread crumbs of life and live in survival mode and not thrive. We have the right to thrive as human beings. So whether you're a girl or a boy, you have the right to fulfill your full potential. Whether you are from any demographic or background, you have the right to thrive in any location. And if you're escaping harm and danger and war, you have the right to thrive in another location as anyone else.
I used to teach refugees in British government projects, and I also taught CEOs in Iranian colleges. I taught Syrian children in Turkey as well. I've taught every level of personalities, from the most desperately endangered people to influential government figures. So within all of that, we're all the same. We all have a voice. We all have the right to have our voices heard, and be respected, even if there is disagreement in those voices.
I came across Co Chocolat in Instagram or perhaps an artisan chocolate platform because I am an artisan chocolate connoisseur and do reviews, and I take heavy interest in chocolate production. I’m Trinidadian in my background and in the West Indies eating raw cocoa was normal during holidays there. Trinidad and Tobago is a cocoa producing country, as you know. I reviewed their products and that's how our relationship started, I was very impressed with the product specially since I am into kickboxing and martial arts and try to lead a healthy lifestyle. Healthy eating is central to my lifestyle. I really monitor the quality of food my five children take. The sustainability concept was absolutely fantastic and it was obviously of very high quality.
So the healthy chocolate theme really resonated with me. As somebody who's a lover of chocolate, I've found Co Chocolat to be an amazing brand and one of the very few brands that I really do support. You're true to your word. You have really good philosophy. The ladies, Luchie and Iman are hardworking girls, I've never met such hard working girls! They are in my fitness center in Sharjah Ladies Club and just so very impressed with the work. I visited the factory and it was just amazing, really great to see the brand scale. You deserve every success and I really give any support to anything you do in the future.
Co Community Feature of the Month
What do they all have in common? The same values and love for honestly good chocolates while they too want our cacao farmers to prosper.
Those fun encounters with our customers that started with chocolates and food eventually led to interesting, and inspiring conversations. We discovered their passions through these exchanges and with our community growing bigger and more diverse each day, we figured it would just be awesome if we can inspire more people with fun and interesting features about our friends in the Co Chocolat Community.
Could you be our next featured member?
]]>
We first met Natasha Manning who is @Tash_lifts on Instagram almost two years ago in one of our vegan pop-ups. She was friendly but understandably reserved, but she loved our traditional hot cocoa and vegan chocolate bars. We followed each other on Ig and discovered that she was relatively new to powerlifting. Wow. A sport for the brave. Later we found out that this unlikely sport gave her a chance to re-channel her energies when she was in a dark period. Natasha’s competition total is now at 372.5kg across squats (135kg), bench(72.5kg), and deadlifts (165kg). That’s a looooot of kgs to lift! 💪🏼😍 Come 2023, she is hoping to start training other people to start powerlifting.
Our friendship with her started when she ordered from us online. Somehow we managed to discuss e-commerce because that was her area of expertise. So when she started giving us at Co Chocolat feedback about our check-out process and how we can improve the customer journey online, we were delighted! And of course, we implemented what we can straightaway.
We found out later over coffee and cakes, a day before one of her competitions, that she is a staunch supporter of ethical brands. Another kindred soul who wants to make a difference through her purchasing power. She told us that her dad exerts a huge influence in her life, especially on health-related topics.
Our spotlight this month is on Natasha Manning – a powerlifter, e-commerce consultant, true chocolate-lover, and a brave soul! She is not just a valued community member but a friend to us here at Co Chocolat.
We asked her a few questions:
1. What got you started with powerlifting?
A friend of mine is a powerlifter & I started watching her compete. I kept thinking I could never do it but the more I watched the more inspired felt. So one day I was brave enough to call Desert Barbell, the rest as they say is history. Powerlifting really makes me feel alive, I'm in my power when I step up to the bar. It has taught me so much about resilience, strength & community. It's so much more than a sport
2. What can you advice women when it comes to embracing their own power and find their own passion?
Firstly, try things to find out what makes you feel alive & empowered. Stepping out of your comfort zone is a good thing. Then once you find it, commit to it & work for it.
3. You have been supporting us from the very start, what is your favorite Co Chocolat product?
- Ooooooh a tough one, but I will have to say it's Power-up! It is part of my pre-workout routine and I love every bit of it!
Co Community Feature of the Month
What do they all have in common? The same values and love for honestly good chocolates while they too want our cacao farmers to prosper.
Those fun encounters with our customers that started with chocolates and food eventually led to interesting, and inspiring conversations. We discovered their passions through these exchanges and with our community growing bigger and more diverse each day, we figured it would just be awesome if we can inspire more people with fun and interesting features about our friends in the Co Chocolat Community.
Could you be our next featured member?
While sharing the goodness of Finally, Truly Healthy chocolates®, our community has grown as clients have become friends.
Introducing Hadil Al-Khatib - A Certified Holistic Nutrition and Gut Health Specialist, a multi-awarded SME leader which is a homegrown concept by Mastercard.
We first met Hadil of @Thebrothlab on February 2020 just a few weeks before the Great Lockdown. Our first impression being on the same pop-up event in Marriott Marquis, “she’s so pretty, soooo hardworking and no airs!” Then we found out she also runs The Roost in Jumeirah and is a gut expert, and has Brothlab! A powerhouse of a lady.
So this November, we are delighted to feature one of our community members.
Hadil was so thrilled to hear about our health mission at Co Chocolat and how we empower cacao farmers and we asked her a few questions:
1. What made you start your company The Broth Lab?
When the pandemic hit the F&B early 2020, this is where the emphasis of the immunity boosting superfoods like Broth emerged and the healing power of the broth lab started gaining attention especially by health authorities, medical professionals and covid patients who have shared their real and honest testimonials of how it helped reduce their covid symptoms and heal their body faster.
In less than a year, The Broth Lab has successfully catered to different segments of customers through its efficient automated B2C business and marketing model as well as B2B as it hit the shelves of all major hypermarkets and e-platforms around the UAE like Carrefour, Choithrams, Biobox, ripe organic, QualityFood, FarmBox and soon at Kibsons. Steps are currently in progress about expanding in the GCC as well, all thanks to its easy store and deliver model. It is currently produced at multiple cloud kitchens and delivers to all seven emirates.
2. If there is one piece of advice you can give to women who are trying to be in the same field as you. What would it be?
Build your tribe, and never give up!
3. What has always been your mission?
My message was always about spreading awareness on the healing properties of food when its in God’s created form. Out bodies have intended for us to heal. It is the conscious decision that we make every day on what we eat and drink that either fights or feeds disease
4. Tell us more about what you do.
I am the Founder, a certified holistic nutrition and a Gut Health specialist, been awarded SME leader – homegrown concept by Mastercard (a true honor) and very passionate about supporting and catering to busy mothers and fitness fanatics who have no time to cook bone broth (which usually takes at least 15 hours if not overnight to make from scratch) and to provide them with easier and healthier cooking solutions.
The creative marketing techniques and elements implemented was to encourage collaboration over competition, in Ramadan, The broth lab collaborated with two other Palestinian-women led businesses to create a cook off box which includes different broth varieties catering to Vegans and Non Vegans from the broth lab, a beautiful apron with a series of women wearing thobes from the different cities in Palestine as well as a cook book filled with broth recipes and stories of Palestine. Little did we know that this will grab the media’s attention to this extend given the recent events that just shortly after emerged in Palestine.
Another example of such collaborations was done with a Deli, to cross-promote products and create a delicious and creative Ramen box, again focusing on collaboration over competition. Another collab is currently in creation at a kids Museum to cater for children and parents, cross promoting healthy meals with healthy play. On that note, Moms of picky eaters jumped on board when we launched The Little Munchkins broth type. Founded by a mother, it was natural to cater for babies and children as part of the broth lab product range. Countless Mom bloggers, fashion influencers, foodies, Chefs and customers have shared amazing testimonials and encouraged a community feel for this homegrown business, just like Co Chocolat has.
5. How was the Collaboration with Co Chocolat?
Co Chocolat collab was meant to be, a clean and sustainable sourced brands so we collaborated via the Chocolate Matcha box which is my ultimate favorite drink, not only is it energizing but the best way to stay caffeinated without the coffee jitters, it is full of antioxidants and rich in minerals that nourishes the body and just absolutely delish!!! It's perfect for children (opt the matcha out if they are younger than 16) and adults can have the hot cholate and matcha blend, matcha alone or hot chocolate drink solo. Its great iced or hot. The perfect pick me up. Packed perfect to mobilize and keep at the office as well. It is a staple in my pantry and will encourage it be in yours too. There is no excuse in today’s world with plenty of nutritious alternatives.
------------
Co Community Feature of the Month
What do they all have in common?
The same values and love for honestly good chocolates while they too want our cacao farmers to prosper. Those fun encounters with our customers that started with chocolates and food eventually have led to interesting, and inspiring conversations. We discovered their passions through these exchanges and with our community growing bigger and more diverse each day, we figured it would just be awesome if we can inspire more people with fun and interesting features about our friends in the Co Chocolat Community.
Could you be our next featured member?