''Tsokolate'' (), also spelled ''chocolate'', is a native Filipino thick

hot chocolate Hot chocolate, also known as hot cocoa or drinking chocolate, is a heated drink consisting of shaved chocolate, melted chocolate or cocoa powder, heated milk or water, and usually a sweetener like whipped cream or marshmallows. Hot chocolate ...

drink. It is made from ''tabliya'' or ''tablea'', tablets of pure ground roasted cacao beans, dissolved in water and milk. Like in Spanish and Mexican versions of hot chocolate, the drink is traditionally made in a ''

tsokolatera Chocolatera is a type of high-necked metal pot shaped like a pitcher used for the traditional preparation of hot chocolate drinks in Spain, Latin America, and the Philippines (where it is spelled tsokolatera). It is used in combination with a mol ...

'' and briskly mixed with a wooden baton called the '' molinillo'' (also called ''batidor'' or ''batirol''), causing the drink to be characteristically frothy. ''Tsokolate'' is typically sweetened with a bit of ''

muscovado Muscovado is a type of partially refined to unrefined sugar with a strong molasses content and flavour, and dark brown in colour. It is technically considered either a non-centrifugal cane sugar or a centrifuged, partially refined sugar accordi ...

'' sugar, and has a distinctive grainy texture. ''Tsokolate'' is commonly consumed at breakfast with traditional ''

kakanin A rice cake may be any kind of food item made from rice that has been shaped, condensed, or otherwise combined into a single object. A wide variety of rice cakes exist in many different cultures in which rice is eaten and are particularly preval ...

'' delicacies or ''

pandesal Pandesal ( es, pan de sal, salt bread, lit. "salt bread") is a staple bread roll in the Philippines commonly eaten for breakfast. It is made of flour, yeast, sugar, oil, and salt. Description ''Pandesal'' is a popular yeast-raised bread in the ...

'' and other types of traditional

Filipino pastries Filipino cuisine ( fil, lutong Pilipino/pagkaing Pilipino) is composed of the cuisines of more than a hundred distinct ethnolinguistic groups found throughout the Philippine archipelago. A majority of mainstream Filipino dishes that compose F ...

. It is also popular during

Christmas season The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, particularly among children.

Names

''Tsokolate'' is also known as ''suklati'' in Kapampangan; ''sikulate'' in

Maguindanao Maguindanao (, Maguindanaon: ''Prubinsya nu Magindanaw''; Iranun'': Perobinsia a Magindanao''; tl, Lalawigan ng Maguindanao) was a province of the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). From 2014 ...

; and ''sikwate'' or ''sikuwate'' in

Visayan languages The Bisayan languages or Visayan languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in the Philippines. They are most closely related to Tagalog and the Bikol languages, all of which are part of the Central Philippine languages. M ...

. All are derived from Spanish ''

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec ci ...

'' ("chocolate"), ultimately from

Nahuatl Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in Central Mexico and have small ...

'' xocolātl''.

Tabliya

'' Tabliya'' or (also spelled ''tableya'' or ''tablea'', from Spanish '' tablilla'', "tablet") are small traditionally home-made tablets of pure ground roasted cacao beans. ''Tabliya'' is made by drying beans of ripe cacao fruit for two or three days. The dried beans are shelled and roasted. They are ground into a thick

chocolate liquor Chocolate liquor (cocoa liquor) is pure cocoa mass (cocoa paste) in solid or semi-solid form. Like the cocoa beans (nibs) from which it is produced, it contains both cocoa solids and cocoa butter in roughly equal proportion. It is produced fr ...

paste that are then formed into the characteristic little discs or balls and allowed to dry. Aside from ''tsokolate'', ''tabliya'' is used in a wide variety of other traditional desserts in the Philippines, most prominently in ''

champorado Champorado or tsampurado Almario, Virgilio, et al. 2010. '' UP Diksiyonaryong Filipino'', 2nd ed. Anvil: Pasig. (from es, champurrado) is a sweet chocolate rice porridge in Philippine cuisine. Ingredients It is traditionally made by boiling ...

'', a

glutinous rice Glutinous rice ('' Oryza sativa var. glutinosa''; also called sticky rice, sweet rice or waxy rice) is a type of rice grown mainly in Southeast and East Asia, and the northeastern regions of South Asia, which has opaque grains, very low amyl ...

porridge Porridge is a food made by heating or boiling ground, crushed or chopped starchy plants, typically grain, in milk or water. It is often cooked or served with added flavourings such as sugar, honey, (dried) fruit or syrup to make a sweet cereal, ...

flavored with chocolate.

Preparation

Dumaguete Sta Monica Beach Club - Suman Mangga Tsokolate 2

''Tsokolate'' is traditionally prepared by boiling water and milk in a special high-necked

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

-shaped pot known as a ''

'' (also ''tsokolatehan'', ''sikulatihan'', ''sikwatehan'', etc.). It is taken off from the flame once bubbles start to form and a few discs of ''tabliya'' are dropped into the liquid. ''

Muscovado Muscovado is a type of partially refined to unrefined sugar with a strong molasses content and flavour, and dark brown in colour. It is technically considered either a non-centrifugal cane sugar or a centrifuged, partially refined sugar accordi ...

'' sugar and more milk or cream is also added, to taste. A special wooden baton called the '' molinillo'' (also called ''batidor'' or ''batirol'') is then inserted through the top and briskly twirled using the palms of the hands to bring the liquid to a froth. It is then poured into individual cups. Modern methods of making ''tsokolate'' can include using regular

whisk A whisk is a cooking utensil which can be used to blend ingredients smooth or to incorporate air into a mixture, in a process known as '' whisking'' or '' whipping''. Most whisks consist of a long, narrow handle with a series of wire loops ...

blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary blender consists of a blender container with a rotating me ...

s, or milk frothers to achieve the same frothy consistency. Additional ingredients like

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus '' Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakf ...

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus '' Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla ('' V. planifolia''). Pollination is required to make the plants produce the fruit from whic ...

, ''

pinipig ''Pinipig'' is a flattened rice ingredient from the Philippines. It is made of immature grains of glutinous rice pounded until flat before being toasted. It is commonly used as toppings for various desserts in Filipino cuisine, but can also be ...

'' rice flakes, or even

rum Rum is a liquor made by fermenting and then distilling sugarcane molasses or sugarcane juice. The distillate, a clear liquid, is usually aged in oak barrels. Rum is produced in nearly every sugar-producing region of the world, such as the Ph ...

tequila Tequila (; ) is a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands ('' Los Altos de Jalisco'') of the central western Mexican s ...

can also be added. However, using commercial

cocoa powder Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * '' Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter an ...

instead of ''tabliya'' is strongly frowned upon, as it does not give the same texture or taste.

Cultural significance

''Tsokolate'' is commonly consumed at breakfast or ''

merienda Merienda is a light meal in southern Europe, particularly Spain (merenda in Galician, berenar in Catalan), Portugal (lanche or merenda) and Italy (merenda), as well as Hispanic America, Philippines (meryenda/merienda), North Africa (Morocco), ...

'' with traditional ''

'' or bread. Common pairings with ''tsokolate'' include ''

'', ''

puto maya ''Puto'' is a Filipino steamed rice cake, traditionally made from slightly fermented rice dough (''galapong''). It is eaten as is or as an accompaniment to a number of savoury dishes (most notably, ''dinuguan''). ''Puto'' is also an umbrella t ...

'', ''

puto bumbong ''Puto bumbong'' is a Filipino purple rice cake steamed in bamboo tubes - widely known as puto bumbonger or bumbongizer. It is traditionally sold during the Christmas season. It is a type of '' puto'' (steamed rice cake). Etymology The name i ...

'', ''

churro A churro (, ) is a type of fried dough from Spanish and Portuguese cuisine. They are also found in Latin American cuisine and in other areas that have received immigration from Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries, especially in the So ...

s'', '' ensaymada'', ''

buñuelo A ''buñuelo'' (; alternatively called ''boñuelo'', ''bimuelo'', ''birmuelo'', ''bermuelo'', ''bumuelo'', ''burmuelo'', or ''bonuelo''; ca, bunyol, ) is a fried dough fritter found in Spain, Latin America, and other regions with a historical co ...

s'' (or '' cascaron''), '' suman'', ''

kesong puti ''Kesong puti'' is a Filipino soft, unaged, white cheese made from unskimmed carabao milk and salt curdled with vinegar, citrus juices, or sometimes rennet. It can also be made with goat or cow milk. It has a mild salty and tart flavor. When a ...

'', and ''

bibingka ''Bibingka'' (; ) commonly refers to a type of baked rice cake from the Philippines that is traditionally cooked in a terracotta oven lined with banana leaves and is usually eaten for breakfast or as merienda (mid-afternoon snack) especially d ...

''. It is also popular during

in the

, particularly among children. In the novel '' Noli Me Tangere'' (1887) by the Philippine national hero,

José Rizal José Protasio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda (, ; June 19, 1861 – December 30, 1896) was a Filipino nationalist, writer and polymath active at the end of the Spanish colonial period of the Philippines. He is considered the national h ...

, the antagonist character Padre Salvi is alleged by his rival, the '' alferez'' of the ''

Guardia Civil The Civil Guard ( es, Guardia Civil, link=no; ) is the oldest law enforcement agency in Spain and is one of two national police forces. As a national gendarmerie force, it is military in nature and is responsible for civil policing under the au ...

'', to calculatingly serve thick ''chocolate'' (''espeso'') for important guests and watered-down ''chocolate'' (''aguado'') for guests he deemed unimportant. According to the alferez, Salvi surreptitiously signals his servant to prepare either by saying "chocolate, eh?" or "chocolate, ah?" - "eh" and "ah" actually being short for ''espeso'' and ''aguado''. The narrator states he is unsure if this is just slander because the same story has been told about many priests, or it may be a practice of Salvi's

Franciscan Order The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

. Following Rizal, the terms "Chocolate Eh" and "Chocolate Ah" have been adopted by some establishments.

References

{{Chocolate drinks Philippine cuisine Chocolate drinks Hot drinks Non-alcoholic drinks Christmas food

Names

Tabliya

Preparation

Cultural significance

See also

References