We don’t only owe the Japanese for inventing the coolest gadgets; now we can thank them for introducing us to the smoothest, creamiest, and richest chocolates we’ve ever tasted: nama chocolates.

Meaning “fresh” in Japanese, nama chocolates began as a craze 15 years ago in Japan. Once you try it, you’ll understand perfectly why the Japanese went gaga for these: the delicate, luxurious chocolate melts in your mouth in a smooth, creamy, and velvety texture never before experienced. Made from cacao beans and fresh cream, it reminds one of ganache.

Heavenly Chocolates introduces nama chocolates to the Philippines through the brand Sachi. We recently got to meet the founder of Sachi Nama, Ms. Akiko Mochida from Niigata, Japan, who told us more about nama chocolates. She said “Sachi” means happiness in Japan, a very fitting name for these chocolates that are truly a delight to eat.

They come in classic variants such as milk, bittersweet, bitter, mint, and strawberry, as well as exciting seasonal flavors like rum, champagne, coffee, and green tea.

I was able to try their bittersweet, bitter, milk, strawberry, rum, and champagne flavors. The milk-flavored Sachi Nama is amazingly smooth and creamy, as it is made up of 58% base chocolate (dark) mixed with milk.

Sachi Nama chocolates, P350/box

Sachi Strawberry was also mouth-watering, as it captured the sweetness of fresh strawberries and blended well with the rich dark chocolate taste. Strawberry-lovers will definitely swear by this. Sachi Rum was also quite an experience for one’s palate, as it expertly combined the alcohol taste with that of dark chocolate, making for an intoxicating treat, indeed. It’s not for those who like their chocolate innocently sweet and creamy, however.

The best chocolate of all for me is still the champagne-flavored nama chocolate. They say one of the best ways to enjoy your chocolate is to eat it while drinking wine, and vice versa. Sachi’s Champagne seems to render that unnecessary; you can enjoy your champagne in your chocolate. It’s an exquisite taste. But don’t take my word for it; you really have to try it to experience what I mean.

Sachi is exclusively available in the Philippines through Heavenly Chocolates. Ms. Mochida also plans to introduce this to other parts of the world, so others can experience the joy of Sachi Nama chocolates. We’re fortunate to be among the first to have this type of chocolates from Japan. Share it with your loved ones this Christmas.

To enjoy nama best, consume it within one week from purchase. Any longer would make the chocolate harder. Unlike traditional chocolate, nama needs to be kept chilled to maintain its freshness. It is very sensitive and delicate, so you must always keep it in the fridge; otherwise, it would melt quickly. If you will be transporting it, better to keep it in a cooler bag and ice gel pack, which you can purchase from Heavenly at P35 per set.

Reserve your favorite Sachi flavors early to ensure their availability. Introductory price of P350/box is extended up to December 31, 2008. It even comes with a free white gift box for every five nama boxes, while stocks last.

Heavenly Chocolates is located at 127 Roces Avenue, Quezon City (near Tomas Morato Ave.) You may contact them through 6662208. Store hours are 1PM to 10PM, Monday to Saturday.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 18th, 2008 at 9:00 am and is filed under Food and Drink. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.