The Sweet Journey of Chocolate

History of Chocolate: From Mesoamerica to Europe

• Cacao was first discovered and used in Mesoamerica where it was consumed as a bitter drink mixed with spices and corn puree, believed to be an aphrodisiac and to give strength.

• Cacao seeds were so valuable that they were used as a form of currency by the Mexica.

• Chocolate arrived in Europe in the 16th century where sugar was added, making it popular among the ruling classes and then among the common people.

• Chocolate was considered essential in the rations of United States soldiers during war in the 20th century.

• The word "chocolate" comes from the Classical Nahuatl word xocolātl, of uncertain etymology, and entered the English language via the Spanish language.

• Cacao pods grow in a wide range of colors and textures, with 30 to 40 brownish-red almond-shaped beans embedded in a sweet viscous pulp.

• Evidence suggests that cacao was fermented and served as an alcoholic beverage as early as 1400 BC.

• Cacao was originally domesticated in South America and used by the Mayo-Chinchipe culture between 5,300 and 2,100 years ago.

• The Maya people used cacao for religious rituals, funerary offerings, tribute, and medicinal purposes and used cacao beans as currency.

• The Aztecs associated cacao with the god Quetzalcoatl and drank it cold, consuming it as an aphrodisiac or as a treat for men after banquets.

• Chocolate was initially used as a medicine to treat illnesses such as abdominal pain because of its bitterness, but once sweetened, it became a court favorite.

• The desire for chocolate created a thriving slave market, and with the depletion of Mesoamerican workers, cocoa beans production was often the work of poor wage laborers and enslaved Africans.The History and Modern Use of Chocolate

• Water-powered edge runners were used to crush cacao beans on a larger scale than before.

• The patent for a chocolate refining process was bought in 1761 by Joseph Fry, who started J. S. Fry & Sons.

• Wind-powered and horse-drawn mills were used to speed up production, and heating working areas assisted in extraction.

• Chocolaterie Lombart, created in 1760, was the first chocolate company in France, 10 years before Pelletier et Pelletier.

• Dutch chemist Coenraad van Houten introduced alkaline salts to chocolate in 1815, reducing bitterness. He also created a press to remove half the natural fat from chocolate liquor in 1828, making it cheaper to produce and consistent in quality.

• In 1847, J. S. Fry & Sons made chocolate moldable by adding melted cacao butter. Milk chocolate was invented in 1875 by Daniel Peter by mixing powdered milk with liquor.

• Rodolphe Lindt invented the conching machine in 1879, improving the texture and taste of chocolate.

• Cadbury started manufacturing boxed chocolates in England by 1868, and Milton S. Hershey began the career of Hershey's chocolates with chocolate-coated caramels in 1893.

• The production of chocolate shifted from the New World to Asia and Africa, and the price dropped dramatically in the 1890s and 1900s.

• Roughly two-thirds of the world's cocoa is produced in Western Africa, with Ivory Coast being the largest source.

• Individual cocoa farmers are at the mercy of volatile world markets, and only three to four percent of cocoa futures contracts traded ever end up in physical delivery.

• Seven to nine times more cocoa is bought and sold on the exchange than exists.