Our Story

I'm Joan Cruel, and I'm a Graphic Designer and Film & TV Commercials Visual Effects Producer by trade, but now Full-Time Mom and Chief Ice Cream maker for The Blissful Story Creamery, a small-batch home-based artisanal carabao ice cream family business in here Barangay Kapitolyo. 

Initially, I started making Carabao ice cream without a business pursuit in mind. Commercial ice cream is full of artificial food coloring, fillers and other artificial ingredients like emulsifiers,preservatives and stabilizers all included to enhance body, texture, and shelf life. I just tried to see if I can make an ice cream for my family that is all natural, using the finest, locally available ingredients I can find.

Later, my goal became clear... To share the richest, freshest, and irresistible hand-made carabao ice cream that I make around: made from scratch, and no shortcuts. I hand craft and churn my pints in small batches,-- a few pints at a time, then hand-pack and personally label each one. I make each batch in small quantities, so the carabao ice cream you enjoy is fresh - it hasn't been sitting in a freezer for  months.  It takes time to make ice cream using this method, but I think it is the best way to produce ice cream that will endear to both children and the children inside all of us. 

Why "The Blissful Story"? 

When my husband and I were thinking of a name for our ice cream, we didn't want to call it after either of us, or our children like what most ice cream makers do. We wanted a name that will last longer than any of us. 

So while we were thinking of a name, we happened to chance upon a copy of our son's book: Maurice Sendak's "Where the Wild Things Are", and we thought that our ice cream should be something like it. It should be lasting and memorable as a good children's book, where both children and grown-ups have good memories of it...or "blissful stories". Thus the name. I don't know anyone who isn't happy or 'blissful' when they're having ice cream.

You'll taste the difference in the ice cream I make, and I hope you'll share my story to anyone, who like me, simply just wants to add more love in this world...one scoop at a time.