Shining Palace Between The Dark

Today, April 2nd, 8 am, my eco-efficiency classmates and I went to a local chocolate factory which goes by name "Chocolate Monggo". The factory is more like a home-factory, located in Dalem village, Kotagede, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. This was the first time I went to a chocolate factory.


The place is small and homey, you will feel like going into a cozy cafe in the countryside. Tree is everywhere and they use energy-saving lamps--that is a little different with the other business places here in Indonesia. They provide testers for every guests and I am sure you'll love it. They use only Indonesian cacao beans, mostly from Sumatra and Sulawesi. The chocolatier is a Belgian. He came to Jogja in 2001 and disappointed with the quality of Indonesian chocolate products, so he wanted to make the best chocolate. Before the founding of CV Anugerah Mulia--name of the company--and the brand "Chocolate Monggo", he sold the chocolate he made to his local friends and then in University of Gadjah Mada's Sunday morning with name "Cacaomania".

After that, he and his friends thought of making a new, endemic brand that represents Jogja the most since they made it in Jogja so there came the word "monggo". It is the word that Jogja dwellers always say, means "if you please", "please", with a thumb gesture (similar to the sign used by hitchhikers but in a horizontal position), when someone passes in front of you, when invited into someone's house and when you leave again etc. Even those that are non-Javanese end up using it. And that is why this chocolate is special.

For a local brand, their products are the most expensive one. It costs almost two times than the other brands. Here the reasons. First, they hardly use machines. They have approximately 120 workers who work in the factory. That is a big number for a such little place. Secondly, they choose only recycled paper or certified paper for the wrapping which means--by all means--it costs more to buy the papers then ordinary ones. Thirdly, they do not use plastics, even for the bag, they use paper bag. 


They are an EoCM company. EoCM is Environment Oriented Cost Management, which means when you are running your business, your aim is not the money, but the nature. In their factory in Jogja, they have hardly NPO or Non-Product Output (the things that we buy and we put into the process of production, but wasted because it is not a part of the product we want) so it is helping the mother earth.

Now, we will talk about the products. They have two general measurements for they common products: 40 grams bars and 80 grams tablets. The 40 grams bars have 4 variants: praline, caramello, original dark, and strawberry. The 80 grams tablets have 7 variants: dark 58%, dark 69%, ginger, macadamia, orange peel, organic cashew nuts, and red chili.
There are also souvenir bars: Java Box, Box Punakawan, Becak, Gareng, Semar, Petruk, and Borobudur; and pralines box. Unike the others, they make seasonal events' special chocolate that is very different than the others: Idul Fitri, Valentine's day, Easter, Christmas, and Halloween. For you who want to make custom ones, you can order too, like for wedding, birthday... and there's coffee side chocolate too for hotels and resto and couverture (chocolate flakes) both 58% and 69%!

Interesting, eh?

But what is so special for me? It is the red chili chocolate I bought this morning. You will never find other chocolate with this kind of additional ingredients. You have to eat it slowly and taste the delicious dark Belgian chocolate first. When it's melting, gulp it gracefully and you will find something hurt your throat, the same sensation that you'll get when you eat "sambal" or hot ketchup. It is really good, indeed, not too hot or less than we need. You should try this one ^^