During this month of February as our Valentine Flavors are in full swing, we thought it would be fun to look back at the history of Sebastian’s Valentine Ice Cream collection where what started as a joke between friends eventually became one of our most anticipated (and imitated) events of the year.
Around November 2013, Carl Vergara, a noted comic book writer-artist and playwright who created the Pinoy Superheroine Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah, who was a friend of our head sorbetero, texted him the message “Your next hit flavor will be called matinong boyfriend”. Our sorbetero was greatly amused by that and filed the idea away for safekeeping.
When 2014 came along, February was coming up and we were thinking of what to do for Valentine’s Day, when Vergara’s suggestion came back to mind. The concept was instantly crystal clear: To name Ice Creams “Matinong Boyfriend” and “Matinong Girlfriend”, counterprogramming aimed to appeal to the single and unattached on Valentine’s Day while everyone else was catering to the partnered.
The very first Matinong Boyfriend was Raspberry Sorbet swirled together with Whipped Cream Ice Cream. Raspberries is a personal favorite of ours, both for the flavor and intense color. The very first Matinong Girlfriend was a Dark Chocolate Ice Cream with rum and garnished with cinnamon-roasted almonds and chunks of cookie butter, as cookie butter was the ingredient of the moment.
Even back then, the identities of the 2 flavors were established: “Boyfriend” was aimed to appeal to women (and the boys who liked boys), was refined & elegant, with an emphasis on technique and the incorporation of fruit. “Girlfriend” was targeted for boys (and the girls who liked girls) had a more masculine energy, celebrating the “more is more” aesthetic. These would be the archetypes that would be followed in future Valentines from now on. The Ice Creams came out on February 14 and were an instant hit.
When 2015 rolled around, we considered bringing back the same flavors, But then we thought that would end up being predictable. And since the names had little connection to the flavors themselves, we decided instead to change up the flavors but keep the names.
Matinong Boyfriend was a Passionfruit Sansrival Ice Cream, with passionfruit sorbet and macadamia nuts. We have since brought back this flavor several times (replacing the macadamias with cashews) and it became the first Valentine flavor that would ‘cross over’ and become a seasonal flavor. Matinong Girlfriend was a Potato Chip Ice Cream adapting the technique of Cereal Milk but replacing the cornflakes with potato chips. This would be the first time ‘Girlfriend’ would start veering to the salty-sweet, snack-inspired flavor profile.
This was also the time we also decided to appeal to the other segment of unattached people; Namely, the ones who had their hearts broken. Either they were looking for answers and in the process of healing, or the ones who were angry with bitterness in their heart and had difficulty moving on
So thus was born the first Closure Ice Cream. Made with chrysanthemum tea flowers and orange zest, this Ice Cream had what would become the defining traits of Closure: Made with tea (symbolizing wellness and healing), no chunks so it would glide smoothly down the palate with minimal effort, and a soothing, rejuvenating flavor.
And of course, the debut of our most INFAMOUS flavor: Unresolved Issues. Using a strong ampalaya tea, we made a bitter sorbet that embodied the sheer bitterness of those unable to move on. To complete the flavor, we threw in some emerald bits of candied ampalaya for color.
Unresolved Issues was never meant or expected to sell well, it was meant to be a joke out of a concept that was tongue in cheek to begin with. Most people just tasted it out of curiosity and went off to buy Boyfriend Girlfriend or Closure as expected.
But something interesting happened: In social media, Unresolved Issues was the most consistently shared and talked about flavor of the 4. Mostly from people sharing and saying “I can’t believe this is actually a thing” but as a whole, it elevated the brand and really boosted the Valentine Collection as a whole. We saw that the true value of Unresolved Issues was to grab people’s attention and have them talk about the brand and share it.
Instead of releasing it on Valentine’s Day, we released it on Valentine’s Day weekend to capitalize more on the holiday. Once again, the flavors quickly sold out (except for Unresolved Issues) and the Valentine’s Ice Cream collection was now officially complete.
In 2016, we finally moved to selling it in the whole month of February as we realized the ‘only on Valentine’s day’ rule was arbitrary and we were letting a lot of potential sales slip away. Matinong Boyfriend this year was a Dulce de Leche Ice Cream with Strawberry Sorbet. This was actually based on a flavor we had done before, but that year we learned how to make our own dulce de leche and wanted to show off this technique. Matinong Girlfriend this year was dark chocolate-covered chicharon and cocoa nibs in Dark Chocolate Ice Cream, and in hindsight this was the year we went a step too far, crossing over from accessible to self-indulgent. For Closure, we finally did our version of Earl Grey Tea, adding orange, lemon and bergamot zest.
Regarding Unresolved Issues, we actually considered switching it up and adding some ginger this year, but we realized the best thing we could do was to do absolutely nothing to truly embody the concept of not moving on.
In 2017, Matinong Boyfriend was once again a Raspberry Sorbet ribbon with Bittersweet Chocolate Ice Cream with rum. Looking back we now realize we went to raspberry a lot. Matinong Girlfriend this year was a Cheese Ice Cream with white chocolate-covered Cheetos. The crunchy corn snacks wouldn’t stay crisp despite a thick coating of white chocolate; so this was ultimately an idea that we had to let go of. But it ended up being reworked into a more successful Cheese Ice Cream in the future. Closure that year was our first time adding fruit to the mix in the form of a Passionfruit Tea Ice Cream with dayap zest.
Unresolved Issues remained unchanged.
In 2018, Matinong Boyfriend was inspired by a Strawberry Shortcake we had in a Japanese-themed cafe, so we made a Sweet Cream Ice Cream blended with Strawberry Sorbet, and the twist was the pound cake being the ripple instead of the sorbet. Trying to make a solid ingredient into a ripple was a bit laborious and we’re not sure if we’d do that again over simply incorporating them as chunks. Matinong Girlfriend was a modified S’more with burnt marshmallows and potato chips in Chocolate Ice Cream. For Closure, we went local by making a Ginger Salabat Ice Cream with local honey.
Unresolved Issues stayed the same.
In 2019, Matinong Boyfriend was an Almond butter-Milk Chocolate Ice Cream with a Blackberry Sorbet ripple. This flavor was inspired by a trip to the mountains where we stayed in a cabin and made chocolate almond spread & blackberry jelly sandwiches. Matinong Girlfriend was a more successful reworking of 2017’s Cheeto Ice Cream, but this time using mix-ins that were sure to stay crunchy: potato chips, pretzels, and multigrain chips all dipped in salted white chocolate and folded into Cheese Ice Cream. People still ask us about this one and it ended up becoming a seasonal flavor, returning to our displays as Cheesy Munchies Mix. For Closure we made Chai for the first time from scratch, infusing black tea ice cream with peppercorns, cinnamon, gloves ginger, and cardamom.
This may come as a shock, but Unresolved Issues was still the same.
2020 was a theme of looking back. We used to supply Ice Creams to a highly acclaimed Tagaytay restaurant, and these Ice Creams were exclusive to them and never sold at our shop. After a few years, the deal ended and they decided to make their own ice cream. Since it was no longer exclusive, we thought it would be nice to give our regular customers an opportunity to taste these flavors. Creatively speaking, we still personally regard them as some of the finest Ice Creams we have ever put together.
Matinong Boyfriend was Dark Chocolate Orange Ice Cream with rum and candied hazelnuts, while Matinong Girlfriend was Dark Beer Ice Cream made with Cerveza Negra with bittersweet chocolate-covered peanuts. Both Matinong Boyfriend and Girlfriend were from that restaurant. For Closure that year, we decided to go Japanese by making a Roasted Rice Tea.
Unresolved Issues: Once again, unchanged.
And so it brings us to 2021 with our current crop of flavors, which you can order at our online shop. Who knows what flavors Valentine 2022 will bring? Whatever direction we decide to go, rest assured we will do our best to surprise and delight you!