The Hero’s Cup: José Rizal and the Filipino Tradition of Tsokolate
This National Heroes Day, we look back at a simple breakfast enjoyed by one of the Philippines’ most celebrated heroes.
When we think of Dr. José Rizal, we often remember the writer, doctor, scholar, and patriot whose words and works helped awaken Filipino nationalism.
But behind the historical figure was also an ordinary Filipino who ate, traveled, read, worked, and enjoyed the simple things in life.
And among those everyday details is one that feels especially familiar to us today: a warm cup of Filipino hot chocolate.
What Did Rizal Eat for Breakfast?
Historian Ambeth Ocampo, in his book Rizal Without the Overcoat, explored the everyday life of José Rizal beyond the image of the national hero.
According to Ocampo's research, Rizal usually had hot chocolate, a cup of rice, and sardinas secas for breakfast. Sardinas secas, as Ocampo discovered, referred to what Filipinos commonly know as tuyo, or dried salted fish.
It is a remarkably Filipino combination:
Rice. Tuyo. And a warm cup of tsokolate.
Simple, familiar, and deeply rooted in the food traditions of the Philippines.
Interestingly, Rizal's fondness for tuyo is also referenced in accounts of his life and writings. GMA News, citing Ocampo's research, describes tuyo as one of Rizal's favorite breakfast foods alongside rice and hot chocolate.
A Cup of Tsokolate and a Taste of Home
For Filipinos, chocolate is more than a sweet treat.
Long before chocolate became associated with modern desserts and commercial candy, cacao was already part of Filipino food culture. Tsokolate de batirol became particularly associated with the traditional preparation of hot chocolate using cacao tablets or tablea, prepared by grinding and whisking the chocolate until rich and smooth.
The batirol itself—the traditional wooden whisk used to prepare Filipino hot chocolate—is part of this culinary heritage.
This is the tradition that continues to inspire Choco-laté de Batirol today.
While we cannot say that Rizal drank the exact same preparation served at Choco-laté de Batirol, historical accounts do establish that hot chocolate was part of his usual breakfast.
That small detail creates an interesting connection between the Filipino food traditions of Rizal's time and those that continue to be enjoyed today.
Rizal Was More Than a Hero
Perhaps the most interesting part of this story is not simply that Rizal liked hot chocolate.
It is that details like these remind us that our heroes were people, too.
They had favorite foods. They had routines. They enjoyed meals with family and friends. They experienced the same everyday moments that continue to shape Filipino life.
Ocampo's Rizal Without the Overcoat was written precisely to explore this more human side of Rizal—showing him not only as the extraordinary national hero we know, but also as an ordinary person with everyday habits and experiences.
And perhaps that makes him even more relatable.
A hero could spend his days writing about the future of his country—and still sit down to a familiar Filipino breakfast.
From Rizal's Table to Ours
Food has a unique way of connecting generations.
A recipe can travel from one generation to another. A cooking method can survive for decades. A familiar aroma can bring back memories of home.
And sometimes, a simple cup of chocolate can tell us something about the people who came before us.
The hot chocolate enjoyed by Filipinos in Rizal's time may have looked different from the versions we enjoy today, but the idea remains familiar: warm chocolate prepared slowly, shared around a table, and enjoyed as part of everyday Filipino life.
Today, Choco-laté de Batirol continues to celebrate that tradition by preparing Filipino hot chocolate in the traditional batirol style—keeping alive a piece of Filipino culinary heritage for a new generation.
Remembering Our Heroes Through Our Heritage
National Heroes Day is a time to remember the Filipinos who helped shape our nation.
But remembering our heroes does not have to stop with their names, monuments, and historical achievements.
We can also remember the culture they lived in.
The food they ate.
The traditions they experienced.
The simple things that made them Filipino.
José Rizal's story reminds us that history can sometimes be found in unexpected places—even at the breakfast table.
And perhaps there is something meaningful about remembering a national hero over something as simple as a warm cup of tsokolate.
Because traditions are not only things we remember. They are things we continue.
A Cup Worth Remembering
This National Heroes Day, as we honor the heroes who helped shape our nation, let us also celebrate the Filipino traditions that have carried their way into our own lives.
A cup of tsokolate.
A plate of rice.
A little tuyo.
And a reminder that sometimes, the simplest things can carry the deepest stories.
Choco-laté de Batirol
Reviving Traditions.
References & Further Reading
Ocampo, Ambeth R. — Rizal Without the Overcoat
Anvil Publishing. Originally published in 1990.
Ocampo, Ambeth R. — “Rizal Without the Overcoat”
History Comes Alive with Ambeth Ocampo
Caruncho, Eric S. — “Ambeth Ocampo without the overcoat”
Philippine Daily Inquirer, September 11, 2016.
Ocampo, Ambeth R. — “Chocolates and crocodiles”
Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Sta. Maria, Felice Prudente — The Foods of Jose Rizal
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