What exactly is the difference between tsokolate eh and tsokolate ah?
Both were used as code in Noli Me Tangere where tsokolate eh, the “good” thick chocolate drink was for important guests, while tsokolate ah, the “bad” watery version was for nuisances. Both are still used today, but as different recipes rather than a comment on one’s importance. These quirky terms survive as reminders of how we came to our identities as Pinoys through our long-running love affair with chocolate, and the history of our own language, Filipino.
Filipino today is the result of generations of modifying the Tagalog dialect with various Spanish and English influences. It was officially chosen as the national language in the first National Assembly in 1937 because it identified us as Filipinos. In 1946, President Osmeña passed a law officially celebrating it with the first Linggo ng Wika, then held on March. It was in 1997 when President Ramos declared the entire month of August as Pambansang Buwan ng Wika.
Chocolate has its own rich history in the Philippines, and it was the Spanish that introduced us to it. It was love at first bite, and we never looked back. One chocolate brand in particular has captured our love affair with chocolate. And much like other things we Filipinos have inherited such as the jeepney, adobo, and our language, we took chocolate and made it distinctly Pinoy!
In this case it was Goya, when it introduced the Goya Chocolate Bar in 1956. The company’s signature chocolate, the Goya Bar quickly became a favorite amongst Pinoys because it was sweet, simple, straightforward, and undeniably Filipino.
2006 was a big turning point when Delfi Foods Inc., updated the iconic brand, Goya, using the expertise and license of Delfi Chocolate Manufacturing SA Switzerland. This overhaul included sourcing the best cocoa beans, new and exciting chocolate recipes and variants, a modernized 3-hectare manufacturing plant in Marikina City, and a message that’s as honest and wholesome as the chocolate itself: Enjoy Life, Enjoy Goya!
Goya now has lots of different chocolates, but the Goya Bar remains a Pinoy favorite and the crown jewel of a brand founded over 50 years ago. Mostly unchanged since 1956, the Goya Bar still represents the Filipino and the Pinoy’s love for chocolate. With its history and identity, some might even say that it is the Filipino Chocolate. Loved by all, the Goya Bar does not discriminate, and it is still sweet, simple, and straightforward.
Perhaps most important of all, the Goya Bar has continued to grow with the Filipino thanks to the ongoing efforts by Delfi Foods. Since acquiring the brand in 2006, they have introduced new exciting recipes that cater to the Filipinos cravings for different types of chocolates, including 9 different variants for the Goya Bar!
Aside from the classic Milk Chocolate, Pinoy’s can also have their Goya Bar in rich Dark Chocolate, delicate Cream White, milk chocolate with Raisins, milk chocolate with Raisins and Nuts, milk chocolate with Almonds, Cookies and Cream with real cookie bits, Krispy Krunch—rice crispies in milk choclate, and Krispy Krunch Dark—rice crispies again, but this time in luxurious dark chocolate.
With all of these delectable Goya Chocolate Bars to choose from, Chocoholics everywhere have even more ways to enjoy life and enjoy Goya!
After all, chocolates are far more than just a sweet treat for us Filipinos. Chocolate to us is a gift, a celebration, and a tradition. And as President Osmeña wisely concluded, traditions are best honored by celebrating them.
This August, Goya invites all Chocoholics to stand proud and celebrate Buwan ng Wika with friends and family! Show your wit in the talumpati, your poetic heart in the tulaan, your intelligence in the bugtungan, make old Francisco proud in the balagtasan, and for the fiesta, make sure you’re stocked with lots of your favorite Goya Bar!
Not a certified Chocoholic yet? Join us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GoyaChocoholics!
