Get the full experience of eating Artisan Chocolates with Hiraya Filipino Bean To Bar Chocolates from Davao!
Chocolate is always a passion at our home – or cocoa rather. Our small farm produces a bit of Cocoa, enough to make and play with for tableas, chocolate projects, and cooking and baking experiments.
My brother also dabbles a bit with chocolate making. You do know that chocolate comes from these cocoa pods, right?
But truth to tell, I am not a fan of chocolate that is common in the market -those sweet concoctions full of sugar and milk. One thing I do have a certain liking for, is artisan chocolates – produced by crafters, small businesses and local social enterprise. Whenever I pass by night and weekend markets, chocolate events, and government sponsored chocolate symposiums, I’d make sure to check if there are Bean to Bar chocolates -usually in artistic wrappings and assorted out of this world flavors and names. I think I’m as addicted to collecting the chocolate packaging as I am about tasting the chocolates.
When you say Philippine Chocolates, you can almost be certain that Davao would be somewhere in the sentence. You say Davao and I’d think of Malagos Chocolate, Theo and Philo, and I’d imagine fields and fields of cacao in different stages of harvesting, drying, roasting, winnowing, and tempering. Just the smell of cocoa in the wind can get passionate cocoa aficionados excited.
Lately, the local chocolate market is blooming and local cocoa farming is experiencing an unprecedented boost in the international market. We’re the newly discovered kid on the block and is getting a lot of recognition abroad.
I’m happy to discover HIRAYA ARTISAN CHOCOLATES, Inc., a Filipino Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Company. HIRAYA is an ancient Filipino word which means “the fruit of one’s hopes, dreams, and aspirations”. If youre familiar with the term Hiraya Manawari, it means “reach your dreams’.
For Arvin Peralta, who graduated as Professional Chocolate Maker and Professional Chocolatier from Ecole Chocolat, it began as a dream of chocolates, along with the passion to create something for his own. Then in 2014, after graduating from the Social Entrepreneurship Business Camp, he became inspired with the stories of other social entrepreneurs. From then on, nothing can stop them from creating Hiraya -the fruit of everyone’s hopes and dreams..
What is Bean to Bar?
Bean to bar means that the chocolates are sourced directly from local farmers, without middlemen, resulting to a more ethical chocolate production. Most bean to bar producer also follow sustainable, socially conscious practices, and fair trade principles. Arvin works with the local farmers and help uplift their livelihood. Growing out of the tropical mountain climate of Malabog in Davao, on small farms, forest lands, and foothills are the cacao beans especially produced for Hiraya Artisan Chocolates.
Hiraya is on mission to improve the lives of our cacao farmer communities through direct and fair trade, “To date, we have one (1) community composed of 58 farmers in Brgy. Malabog, Davao City Social Entrepreneurship, he says proudly. Arvin shares that they want to produce a strong brand of fine quality chocolate and chocolate products that Filipinos can be proud of. As a social enterprise, we need to combine business with do good mentality and contribute to a sense of local identity and supports local economy. “Our efforts have since provided +200% in income for our community of farmers in Davao.”
Hiraya Chocolates
As can be expected, Hiraya produces top quality 72% Single-Origin Dark Chocolate. Like our cocoa at home, they also have a fruity flavor profile with just a slight hint of bitterness. Everything is 100% locally sourced ingredients, all-natural, hand harvested cacao with no preservatives, no additives, no artificial flavors, and suitable for vegans.
Hiraya also have other chocolate flavors such as the slightly salty Queso de Bola chocolate with Edam Cheese chunks, the sweet smelling coconut flavored chocolates with roasted coconuts, and the signature Chicharon, a spicy chocolate with bits of pork rinds that is surprisingly addicting.
Coffee Collaboration
In collaboration with Kalsada Coffee—a social enterprise with premium coffee beans sourced from the highlands of Sitio Belis, Benguet Province, they also have the Hiraya x Kalsada Chocolate Bar with Coffee Nibs (70g). It has a strong and robust coffee notes.
As Featured In
* BPI Foundation’s Sinag Business Challenge 2015, Top 40 Semi-Finalist
* TheSparkProject.com, Oct-Dec 2015
* WhenInManila.com, Nov 30, 2015
* Spot.ph, Dec 18, 2015
* ANC Green Living, Aired Feb 9, 2016
* Yummy Magazine, April 2016 Issue
* Breakfast Magazine, Nov 23, 2016
* Michelin Guide Singapore, Feb 15, 2017
* Pepper.ph, Feb 19, 2017
* The Thinking Consumer, May 2017
To visit Hiraya Artisan Chocolates, you can drop by their office at Roots Katipunan Unit 106 FBR Arcade Bldg., 317 Katipunan Avenue Loyola Heights, Quezon City.
Or contact:
* Mobile: Arvin Peralta 0917-8511685
* Email: [email protected]
* Online: www.hirayachocolates.com
They are also available on Social Media at facebook.com/HirayaChocolates and instagram @hirayachocolates.
