In all honesty, it’s hard to resist the seductive chocolate – its stunning curves, its high sheen, its pretty packaging and its deeply addictive taste. One doesn’t simply eat chocolate, one savours it. And deals with the guilt later.
To celebrate World Chocolate Day this year, FMT Lifestyle caught up with the founder of local chocolate brand Cocova, Chan Jinli.
Chan, 38, admitted she never quite outgrew her childhood love for chocolate in all its decadent forms whether on its own as a chocolate bar, as a thick sauce drizzled over ice cream, in cakes and cookies or as a rich and flavourful hot drink.
“As a kid, I was happy with whatever form of chocolate I could get, but as I grew older, my taste buds evolved, and I realised most of the chocolate products in the market were too sweet or artificial for my taste,” she said.
The former TV director and content creator also grew more health conscious after she married and became a proud mother of two.
Convinced she couldn’t part ways with the love of her life – chocolate – Chan did the next best thing. She created a healthy brand of chocolate so that she could have her cake and eat it too, so to speak.
What makes Cocova a healthier alternative to other chocolate brands out there?
Chan’s chocolates have a higher percentage of cocoa. This means it contains high levels of antioxidants, the ‘good stuff’ that protects cells from the damage caused by free radicals.
She also explained that her cacao beans are not put through alkalisation, a process where the beans are soaked or washed with an alkali solution to raise their naturally low and acidic pH value.
Skipping the alkalisation process allows the cacao beans to hold on to its antioxidants and natural acidity, she explained.
“There are two types of customers I encounter. The first tastes and falls in love with it immediately. The second type is put off by the sourness of the chocolate until I explain the reason behind it,” Chan said.
Vegans and those who are lactose intolerant can also enjoy Cocova’s products as it doesn’t contain dairy.
When FMT Lifestyle caught up with Chan at Qra The Stories in Bukit Tunku, she was restocking the shelves with the brand’s new oat milk version of its chocolate drinks. The earlier version contained dairy.
“For me, chocolate is something to be enjoyed both when you are happy or sad as it acts as an instant mood booster for me.”
Other products in the Cocova range include dark chocolate coated nuts, dark chocolate ‘spoons’ filled with marshmallows to dunk in hot water for a hot chocolate drink, chocolate buttons, chocolate hazelnut spread and raw cacao nibs.
Happy to support local producers, Chan said most of the cacao beans she uses are sourced from Melaka, with the rest from India and other regions in Asia.
Speaking of her future hopes for the brand, Chan said it was her dream to be able to export her products outside Malaysia one day.
“That’s why I chose the name Cocova, because I want it to be catchy and easy to read!” she said with a smile.
Follow Cocova on Facebook and Instagram, or head to its website for more information.
Cocova
21A, 1st Floor
SS22/11
47400 Damansara Jaya
Petaling Jaya
Selangor
Email: [email protected]
Contact: 010-2835183