Rockwell UTT Winner #8:
THEO & PHILO CHOCOLATE
3.85
114 foodies rated 5- Awesome! I would recommend it!
114 foodies rated 4- I love it!
82 foodies rated 3- We had a good time.
35 foodies rated 2- It is OK.
3 foodies rated 1- Thanks, but it could be better.
Theo & Philo is one of the best home-grown Artisan Chocolates in Manila. Almost all their flavors are good but I particularly like their exotic combinations of Dark Chocolate with Calamansi, and Dark Chocolate with Green Mango and Salt. I also like their Chili Chocolate flavor.
They proudly source their cacao locally (and currently in talks with Gawad Kalinga to source his cacao). Philo’s chocolates are highly recommended for locavores and for Pinoys proudly supporting Filipino-made products.
Congratulations to Theo & Philo for winning Rockwell’s Ultimate Taste Test!
The Story of Theo & Philo Chocolate
by Philo Chua
business. While I was there, I’m a frequent watcher of the Food Network channel and
really got into food and cooking. Thinking about a food business then became a natural
progression for me even though I had no background in food (my background is in
computer science and was actually working in the IT industry).
The inspiration came with this new shop in Pittsburgh that sells gourmet chocolates from
around the world. There was a trend for what they would call “single origin” chocolates,
which meant that the cacao bean used to make the chocolate come from only one region
or country—much like with wine. It piqued my interest and in my research I learned that
only tropical countries within 20 degrees of the equator, like the Philippines, can grow
cacao. So even though we thought European chocolates are the best, the raw materials
come from countries just like ours. So that got me to thinking of doing single origin
Philippine chocolates since nobody had it at the time, and that was the time that I decided
to come home to pursue this.
The start was not easy especially since I don’t have any background in chocolate making.
All I had was a couple of books and there were no courses in making chocolate from
scratch. People in the Philippines would also rarely understand what I was talking about
when I describe the chocolate making process. Usually, people thought I was making
tablea or truffles, which is different. Much of what I learned then is through a lot of trials
and errors.
We started with the classic plain 70% Dark Chocolate and Milk Chocolate. When I
started selling, there was some apprehension whether people in the Philippines would
understand my concept and at the same time accept the product since it’s still a relatively
new concept here. Glad to say that response was better than expected. And sales really
started to pick up when we introduced the different flavored chocolates.
Right now, we’re slowly getting better and better and opportunities are coming in that we
hadn’t thought of before, so we’re optimistic about the future.
About the product/ Pricelist:
70% Dark Chocolate – Php95
Milk Chocolate – Php95
Dark Choc with Ginger – Php95
Dark Choc with Calamansi – Php95
Dark Choc with Labuyo – Php95
Dark Choc with Green Mango & Salt – Php95
Milk Choc with Barako – Php95
Milk Choc with Pili Nut & Pinipig – Php95
Milk Choc with Toffee – Php95 **new just for the holiday season**
Foodies’ Comments:
- barako had bitter taste, siling labuyo was so hot- not good at all
- tried & tested
- chococoffee yum!
- barako chocolate is the best!
- 2 thumbs up for calamansi & white chocolate. excellent combination!
- lovely dark choco
- the chocolate flavor was subdued by the additional flavors
- such rich chocolate
- too soft needs more crunch
- interesting chocolate combination
- interesting concept
- fantastic flavor
- will order!
- coffee choco. chocolatey goodness!
- it’s ok you can do better
- good variety
- really good combos
- good concept
- one of a kind. very different from normal chocolates
- interesting
- interesting chocolate
- unique combinations
- it’s very good
- not a fan of bitter chocolate
- dark chocolate 70% very good
- love the 70%dark
- love the barako!
- am such a fan it’s embarrasing
- unique variety premium product
- nice flavors!
- tastes interesting!
- rarely do you see filipino chocolatiers as dedicated to the developing their art as this one
- great!
- fun filipino flavors
- at last! i thought the philippines would be left behind, but not anymore
- not creamy
- supergood!
- dark chocolate w sili 🙂
- good combi! i liked the dark chocolate & calamansi
- whoever thought of the concept is a real genius <3
- i love the siling labuyo
- fantastic!
- barako & calamansi!
- very good & tasty!
- choco with siling labuyo was unique!
- best dark chocolates ever!
- good green mango + salty & choco combinations
- interesting
- definitely kakaiba especially the barako
- good enough
- really cocoa taste
- unconventional
- too rich for my taste but i think chocolate lovers will enjoy it
- innovative but not my thing
- it’s amazing how you make the flavors come pat
- work on melty texture
- favorite but tiny portions
- very strong flavors
- yummy!
- you can taste the difference of each flavor
- milk choco – YUM!unique. love the choco w green mango & salt
- innovative! but hit & miss!
- barako was good! love the milk chocolate!
- chili calamansi were great
- filipino inspired chocolate flavors
- interesting combis specially the sili
- concept+packaging is great
- flavors not too obvious
- not too sweet
- nice pakaging. PINOY PRIDE!
- love the packaging not so sweet
- <3 LABUYO!
- they are good!
- innovative!
- very dark
- pinoy & innovative
- good
- great!
- it’s a premium chocolate with a twist!
- interesting flavors
- it was ok
- SARAP!
- chocolates are insanely good!
- mango was bad. barako was the best
- the one with kapeng barako is great
- very unique. hope you succeed
- i always buy it at the echo store:)
- sweet+spicy=superb!
- very yummy!
- love it!
- consistently good!
- i like the chocolate with sili
- i love the chocolates
- the chocolate with siling labuyo is a new taste in the mouth
- very nice packaging
- great chocolate
- interesting flavors
- good variation of flavors
- super! 🙂
- good flavor combinatio9ns
- bitterness of the chocolate is there
- best fusion of unexpected flavors. YUM!
- love the taste of cocoa 🙂 in the combinations
- love dark choco
- dark chocolate 🙂
- great concept
- great packaging!
- very nice packaging
- ingenious! yummy!
- interesting flavors!
- great innovation of making chocolate
- delicioso barako!
- nice dark choco
- been a huge fan of theo & philo, still am.
- good quality chocolate
- some questionable flavors
- unique combination of ingredients, they work!!!
- unique and i love dark choco
- dark chocolate 90%
- unique
- great unique combos
- really ingenious product
- my addiction <3
- dark choco is awesome
- interesting combinations
- great
- barako coffee yum!
- love green mango
- milk choco with barako is sarap!
- AMAZING PACKAGING!
- i’ve tasted better
- yumm<3
- love the chocolate with calamansi
- very innovative
- pinoy chocolate!
- 🙂
- siling labuyo chocolate, the best!
- www.theoandphilo.com
- too bitter
- LOVE it!
- flavors burst in your mouth
- really awesome!
- I’m so happy now because of chocolates
- Not for me.
- :)!!!
- too salty!
THEO & PHILO
Mobile: +63 920 4315650
Fax: +63 2 2424093
E-mail: hello@theoandphilo.com
Website: http://theoandphilo.com
Live an Awesome Life,
Founder, www.OurAwesomePlanet.com
Call or Text Me: +63917 5683-627 (LOVE-OAP)
Follow Me 
Facebook
Twitter
Flickr
Youtube
- a Rockwell UTT Winner Certificate;
- a winner feature in Our Awesome Planet; and
- a guaranteed spot in any of the Mercato Centrale markets. 🙂
For more info about UTT 7.0, check out: Your Ultimate Taste Test 7.0 Checklist. Are you ready?
Related OAP Blog Posts:
OAP | The Ultimate Food Trip happens in Rockwell on September 3
OAP | The Foodies’ Guide to Rockwell’s Ultimate Taste Test
OAP | My Cheers Moments @ Rockwell’s Ultimate Taste Test
Thanks to our sponsors for the Rockwell Ultimate Taste Test Event!
Rockwell Ultimate Taste Test is Co-Presented by:
Major Sponsor:
Sponsors:
Congrats, Philo! Excited to buy the Toffee!
I’ve tried both the Milk Chocolate with Barako and Dark Chocolate with Siling Labuyo. Both were entirely different experiences within themselves.
For the Barako, I simply had to alternate between breaking off a piece to eat and sniffing the remaining part of the bar. It was a great thing to have early in the morning (was too curious to wait til lunch). Another form of coffee 😉
The Siling Labuyo bar I had qualms about, but I didn’t regret trying it. I tend to shy away from dark chocolate, being the milk and white chocolate lover that I am, but the spiciness of the pepper (not too much, was just right) helped me through it. 🙂
Amazing how much those 2 chocolate bars fed that morning in the office.