The Chocolate Came First

The Pacific Coconut Bonbon did not begin with coconut.

It began with chocolate.

More specifically, it began with Philippine cacao that had just been roasted, refined, and transformed into chocolate inside the Marsatta kitchen.

Whenever I work with cacao from a new origin, I begin with a 100% chocolate.

No sugar. No milk. No cacao butter. No added flavor. Nowhere for the cacao to hide.

To me, that is the truth serum of chocolate making.

At 100%, the bean stands completely exposed. You experience the aroma, acidity, fruit, earthiness, bitterness, depth, and finish exactly as they exist.

The chocolate either has something worth saying, or it does not.

This Philippine cacao had plenty to say.

The Bars Began the Celebration

Once the cacao passed our initial tasting, we created chocolate bars from it.

The bars allowed us to celebrate the origin honestly. One expression let the cacao stand entirely on its own. Another introduced sweetness, opening the flavor without erasing the character of the bean.

The Philippine chocolate was smooth, expressive, and full of personality.

But after creating the bars, I kept thinking:

Why should the celebration stop there?

Why not continue the party and make a bonbon?

Then Came the Coconut

The chocolate came first.

The Pacific Coconut Bonbon was created because I wanted to continue highlighting the Philippine chocolate we had just made.

Now we needed flavors that could join the chocolate without taking over its story.

Coconut was the natural place to begin. Rich, familiar, and unmistakably tropical, it felt completely at home beside this Philippine chocolate.

But coconut is not exactly known for its restraint.

Give it too much room and it will kick down the door, take over the kitchen, and refuse to leave.

The challenge was creating a ganache that tasted unmistakably of coconut while still allowing the chocolate shell to remain an essential part of the experience.

Then came jasmine.

Not enough to make the bonbon taste perfumed. Not enough to turn the filling into a floral science experiment.

Just a quiet hint.

The jasmine lifts the coconut, softens its richness, and appears gently at the finish.

The chocolate arrives first.

The coconut follows.

The jasmine waits until the end.

That order matters.

The Shell Is Part of the Story

The outer shell of a bonbon is not simply packaging for the filling.

It is the first flavor you experience.

It provides the snap, the texture, and the final chocolate note that remains after the ganache begins to disappear.

For the Pacific Coconut Bonbon, that shell is made with the Philippine-origin chocolate that inspired the entire creation.

The bonbon exists because of the chocolate.

The coconut and jasmine were invited to the party because they had something worthwhile to contribute.

More Than 350 Bonbons Made by Hand

The Pacific Coconut Bonbon made its public debut at the TOCA Cultural Arts Festival presented by the City of Torrance.

I created more than 350 of them by hand for the event.

Naomi was the one out front, handing them to visitors, feeding the crowd, answering questions, and watching people experience the bonbon for the first time.

While I may create the chocolate in the back of the house, Naomi is often the person placing it directly into someone’s hand.

She sees the reaction before I do.

She notices the pause after the first bite.

She sees the person who turns around and comes back for another.

At an event, there is no hiding behind beautiful packaging or clever descriptions. Someone tastes the chocolate, and their face usually tells you exactly what they think.

Longtime Marsatta supporters tried the Pacific Coconut.

People discovering Marsatta for the first time tried it.

Many came back.

Then they came back again.

A chocolate maker can spend ten paragraphs explaining origin, balance, texture, and flavor.

Sometimes Naomi looks over at an empty tray, and that tells me everything I need to know.

Something Special for the VIP Guests

We also created something especially for the TOCA VIP guests.

Each VIP received a Marsatta Thin, a delicate piece of chocolate created to highlight the same Philippine origin.

No coconut ganache. No jasmine. No elaborate filling.

Just a thin expression of chocolate designed to let the cacao speak clearly.

The Pacific Coconut Bonbon showed what the Philippine chocolate could become when paired carefully with other ingredients.

The Marsatta Thin brought the attention directly back to the cacao.

Same Philippine chocolate.

Two completely different experiences.

One celebration.

One Origin, Many Possibilities

This is one of the most exciting parts of being a chocolate maker.

A single cacao origin can become a 100% chocolate, a sweeter bar, a delicate Marsatta Thin, a bonbon shell, or the foundation of an entirely new flavor experience.

The cacao remains the same.

The possibilities continue to grow.

My job is not to force every bean to taste like the last one.

Every origin carries its own character. My responsibility is to listen, roast carefully, refine patiently, and understand what the cacao can become.

This Philippine cacao became chocolate bars.

It became a Marsatta Thin.

Then it became the shell surrounding coconut and a whisper of jasmine.

One origin.

Several expressions.

And we are only getting started.

Taste the Pacific Coconut Collection

The limited 12-piece collection includes:

3 Pacific Coconut Bonbons
Philippine chocolate, soft coconut ganache, and delicate jasmine

3 Triple Dark Bonbons
Deep chocolate flavor for the serious chocolate lover

3 Meyer Lemon Bonbons
Bright, fresh, and beautifully balanced

3 Pacific Ocean Salted Caramels
Soft caramel finished with salt harvested from Pacific Ocean water near Carpinteria, California

ORDER THE PACIFIC COCONUT COLLECTION

The Philippine chocolate came first.

The bars began the celebration.

The Marsatta Thin introduced the origin to the VIP guests.

Naomi handed the bonbons to the crowd.

The coconut and jasmine kept the party going.

And somewhere between the empty trays and the people returning for another taste, the Pacific Coconut Bonbon found its place.

Chef Jeffray
Marsatta Chocolate

Let the chocolate speak for itself.