Palestinian Woman Makes Special Chocolate With Local Herbs

Reem Shihab, a Palestinian woman from the West Bank city of Ramallah, has been making a special kind of chocolate with natural Palestinian herbs such as sage, mint, anise, basil, thyme and rosemary.

The Palestinians usually boil these herbs in water or mix it with tea to drink. The herbs are also used as medicines to treat illnesses such as asthma, cold, and flu. But the idea of making chocolate with herbs is quite ingenious.

Palestinian woman Reem Shihab makes chocolate inside her house in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Feb. 24, 2020. (Xinhua/Nidal Eshtayeh)

"I hope that all the Palestinians, wherever they are in the world, can taste my chocolates and feel as if they are back home in Palestine," she added.

Taghreed Abu Salim, a Palestinian woman who owns a restaurant in Ramallah, is Shihab's frequent customer. Abu Salim buys various kinds of herbal chocolates to add to her dessert menu.

"I have been traveling all over the world and I tasted so many kinds of chocolates, but I have never tasted such kind of herbal chocolate which is delicious," said Abu Salim.

Shihab packs the orders of the herbal chocolate for her customers carefully and writes on every pack of chocolate "Made in Palestine."