"Lantapan’s Liquid Gold: A Journey into Bukidnon’s Finest Cacao and Sikwate Delights”

  

"Lantapan’s Liquid Gold: A Journey into Bukidnon’s Finest Cacao and Sikwate Delights”

 

You have not fully experienced Lantapan if you have not tried their infamous Sikwate. A traditional Filipino hot chocolate made from tablea,pure cacao tablets. This is different from the sweet hot chocolate that you might have tasted, as this one gives a slightly bitter flavor from the pure tablea. If you want it sweeter, you can add sugar or milk for a creamier sikwate, but I want mine just right, not too sweet and not too bland. So what makes Sikwate so special that it is a must-taste when visiting Lantapan?

  

Lantapan is named as the vegetable basket of Bukidnon, and it is truly reflected in their rich and massive agricultural lands. And this municipality is one of many agricultural lands in Bukidnon that grow cacao. You’ll see this at the side of the road, sometimes inter-cropped with trees and coconuts. When you visit Lantapan, make sure to check it out.

 

Lantapan does not only offer you a nature and adventure experience. The stunning view and the cool weather are the perfect place to have a sip of Sikwate paired with puto maya that would complete your Lantapan experience. This staple hot chocolate drink in this municipality is proudly produced locally and purely. You might want to try sikwate, as it is not only tasty but also gives various health benefits. This drink is rich in antioxidants that reduce inflammation, improve your mood, improve your blood flow, and many more. As they say, health is wealth; therefore, consuming the liquid gold of Lantapan, Sikwate, will give you good health and will make you wealthy.

 

Everything from ripe cacao beans to tablea tablets has been carefully and skillfully processed. It will take a few days to develop the chocolate flavor after harvesting ripe cacao pods and removing the beans to ferment. After that, the beans are roasted to intensify their chocolate scent and naturally dried in the sun to reduce moisture. Following roasting, the roasted beans are cracked and ground into a fine paste-like consistency during the grinding and molding process. After being formed into round or tablet shapes, this pure cacao paste is allowed to solidify and become tablea. The tablea can then be melted in hot water or milk to create your own soothing sikwate drink. Understanding this drawn-out process increases your enjoyment.  

 

Whenever I visit cafés here in Lantapan, I always look for the sikwate, and it never fails to give me that taste of comfort and a taste of home, giving me the best experience of both Lantapan’s culture and its nature. One sip of this sikwate is one step of giving back to the hard work of the farmers of Lantapan. This gives you the power of making a difference while enjoying this traditional hot chocolate. So what are you waiting for? Have a sip of Sikwate and enjoy nature's abundance here in Lantapan.

Fun Fact about Sikwate:

•  It has deep historical roots! It traces back to the Spanish colonial era, when cacao was first introduced to the Philippines. Over time, Filipinos perfected their own way of preparing it using tablea, creating a distinctively thick and bold drink often enjoyed with rice cakes like puto or suman.
• The traditional sikwate is often whisked using a wooden tool called a batirol to create that perfect frothy texture.

 

Have you been to Lantapan? Ever tasted their pure sikwate in this cold place? Please let me know your thoughts in the comment section below.

 
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#Lantapan

#Bukidnon

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#tablea

#cacaobeans