Our Christmas delivery will be on Wednesday the 21st of December. For anyone living in Punta Gorda, orders will be hand-delivered by Munchkin Fairy & Gnome Fairy. For the rest of Belize, goods will be sent by Tropic Air.
Chocolate Artisan Soaps.
Everything is hand-made by Munchkin & Gnome, with care, love and attention on our Farm. We’ve got all sorts of lovely stuff including chocolate and medicinal soaps, massage oils, chocolate lip balms and lots more. You can either order through the website or email us with your order on info@casamascia.com.
We just delivered a fresh batch of Lime Sulphur XXX Pet Dip For Mange, Fleas, Ticks and Ringworm (wow…what a looooong name). The guys at the Farm Store in Punta Gorda just call it Presidente (the name of beer from which we have recycled the bottle)…for Pets. Brian, the manager at the Farm Store tells us that the Pet Dip is very popular.
Mr. Brian Cho at The Farm Store.
Later on I spoke with Gnome and discussed the possible reasons for the popularity of this particular product.
Munchkin: “Hmmmm, Maybe it’s because we use recycled bottles.”
or
“Maybe it’s the Triple XXX on the label…makes it look really serious.”
or
“Maybe it’s because people imagine two doctors in the bush, stirring over a cauldron of sulphur pet dip, and think it’s really cool imagery….”
Gnome, of course had a reply:
“Maybe it’s because it actually does what it says on the label.”
Oh. Selling something that actually works. What good marketing strategy!
Checkout this product in The Apothecary or check it out at The Farm Store in Punta Gorda, Belize.
Ooooh…look at that…stacks of Chocolate Artisan Soaps. We are getting ready for the new season with our lovely soaps made from Toledo Cacao and coconut oil. Here is a gallery of some of our chocolate offerings made by Gnome, the budding artist!
The Artist Known as Gnome.
These are brand new for the season: White Chocolate Mint Soap….smells delicious…you’d think you could eat them!!
White Chocolate Mint Soaps.
Artisan Chocolate Soaps…these are the swirly ones….
Chocolate Artisan Soaps.Chocolate Artisan Soaps.
Oh…and of course….100% Doggy Approval…this one tries to grab and eat them!!
We started making soap because we were both fed up with the quality of shop-bought soap. The bars that we bought were a funny pink colour with an artificial rose scent. We didn’t think much of the well-known brands either because they all smelled of unnatural fragrances and dried out the skin. And so we decided to embark on the making of our own soap…at that time we did not have Internet on the farm and had to conduct our research at the Internet Cafe in town.
Our purpose was to make a good soap for us to use instead of having the buy the poor quality supermarket stuff. The properties that we sought for in our home-made soap was a good lather and a moisturising bar with natural scent.
Generally speaking, soap is made from oil/fat and lye. The oil/fat lends the qualities and properties to a soap bar and so we started off by experimenting with anything that we could find off the supermarket shelf. We tried everything from shortening, to lard and a whole plethora of vegetable oils.
These attempts were a great learning experience: shortening was actually okay but the lard soap actually smelled quite piggy!! We came out of the shower smelling like we had smothered ourselves in bacon!! The vegetable oil made a soft moisturising bar but disintegrated very quickly into bits.
At the time, we were also making coconut oil and selling it to the lady at Punta Gorda market. It was a slow, laborious process of grating, boiling and stirring. We spent many full days setting up a fire (with coconut husks) and stirring our pot of coconut oil together under the shade of the coconut palms. It was a very significant time, when we tried to seek meaning in our lives, after extricating ourselves from the rushing urgency and pressures of our previous lives as medical doctors.
I remember making a test batch of coconut oil soaps and eagerly waiting for the results. When soap is made in this way ie. not commercially, the soap needs time to “cure” and this can take anything from 3 months or longer. The longer you wait, the better…it is like a fine wine. Anyway, after waiting 3 months, we tried this soap and discovered that it had all the properties that we were looking far. It lathered well, did not dry out the skin and the natural scent was lovely. The skin felt so clean and smooth.
This was the perfect recipe and we were using our own coconuts from the farm!
Our Lovely Coconuts.
Our soaps are still made from this original coconut oil recipe. In addition to this, we have created Medicinal Soaps and Chocolate Soaps.
We are pleased to inform you that we have Cacao Elixir 8oz bottles for sale in The Apothecary. Usually they are snapped up by chocolate connoisseurs at Elixir Tastings before they even get into the on-line shop.
Cacao Fruit Elixir 8oz.
The Cacao Fruit was gathered in May of Last year; the pods were cracked open and the Elixir has been through a lengthy process of infusion and regular siphoning since then.
It started with the Cacao pods:
Cacao Pods.Cacao Fruit Elixir.
The Final Product:
Cacao Fruit Elixir.
This is our Profile for the Cacao Fruit Elixir:
Colour: Amber brown with hints of burgandy.
Clarity: Very slightly translucent.
Nose: Musky, earthy and reminiscent of freshly cut hay.
Taste: Sweet and coats tongue with an unctuous velvety layer. Complex taste with chocolate tones.
Medicinal Indications.
Digestive Stimulant. Mood-lifting properties.
Serving Suggestions.
Store in the freezer for a cool, sipping liqueur. Pour into a liqueur glass or shot glass and enjoy. Excellent after-dinner digestif especially after a heavy meal.
Serve in a highball glass over ice and top up with soda. Add an orange twist to complement the chocolate taste and aroma.
See you at Cacao Fest 2016 today! Casa Mascia Apothecary will have a booth in Punta Gorda and all the fun starts at about 9am. We will bring our Chocolate Soaps, Chocolate Body Wash, Copal Oils and Soap. And much, much more at Runaway-Not-To-Missed-Bargain Prices!! Ha-Ha…you can tell I don’t have a marketing degree!
It has been a few months since the new market opened in Punta Gorda, Toledo. I will take more pictures next time for some of our readers that don’t live in Toledo. For the town locals, this is to let you know that our Copal Medicinal Oil and Copal Medicinal Soap are available at Mrs. Juanita Bochub’s stall (Stall No.10).
Juanita Bochub.
Punta Gorda Market is now located centrally so it is within easy walking access. Juanita has been selling our products for quite a while but I thought it was worth a reminder. Juanita and I go back a long way; when we first started on the farm, we made coconut oil and she sold this at the market for us.
We are planting out some more Pitahaya (Dragonfruit) along our stone planting beds. Once the cactus start drooping down, they will start to flower. The most common variety in Belize and Central America is the one with red pulp. The more common type in Asia is the white pitahaya. These plants tend to prefer dry areas and have a hard time with wet feet. We have planted pitahaya in Toledo with some success on high, dry ground. We harvest the seeds to make our White Pitahaya Facial Soap:
White Pitahaya Soap.
These facial bars are made from coconut oil and are indicated for acne-prone skin. They are deeply cleansing and exfoliating.
White Pitahaya Soap.
We use this all the time; that’s why we have beautiful skin!!
Beautiful Skin!
If you are in Punta Gorda, you can purchase these soaps at Vance Vernon Pharmacy. Otherwise, check out The Apothecary for ordering details.
Here is a recipe straight from the farm using our own green bananas and coconut cream.
Bunch of Green Bananas.
Remember that you can buy our freshly squeezed cream at Green Supaul’s in Punta Gorda.
Coconut Cream.
This is a wholesome vegetarian dish made from green bananas and lentils cooked in creamy coconut cream. The green bananas taste like yam and so adds an interesting texture to the taste experience. If you would like to view the recipe, click on this link to Green Banana and Coconut Cream Lentils.
It has been a few months since the new market opened in Punta Gorda, Toledo. I will take more pictures next time for some of our readers that don’t live in Toledo. For the town locals, this is to let you know that our 
