Chocolate: You've Come a Long Way, Baby
The history of chocolate is a rich and interesting one. Most of the world didn't know chocolate existed until Columbus went to the Americas and took the cacao bean with him back to Spain. However, it wasn't until the Conquistadors went to Mexico that the Spaniards really discovered the wonders of cacao.
The Aztecs and Mayans worshipped the cacao bean and believed it was a food of the Gods. The Aztecs used it as both nourishment and currency. They believed the fruit of the cacao tree imparted wisdom and they made a special drink with it called xocolatl, of which the Aztec emperor Montezuma is said to have consumed large amounts every day.
When the Spaniards conquered the Aztecs, they were fascinated by cacao but thought the xocolatl drink was too bitter, so they added cane sugar to it and drank it hot, thus creating the first hot cocoa.
The Spanish kept their new discovery a secret from the rest of Europe for about 100 years.
With the decline of Spain as a power, the secret of cacao leaked out at last, and the
Spanish Crown's monopoly of the chocolate trade came to an end. In a few years the
knowledge of it had spread through France, Italy, Germany, and England.
(from "The History of Chocolate and Cocoa" published by The Nestle Company)
In 1847 the first solid chocolate bar was created by Fry & Sons in Bristol, England. The first milk chocolate bar was created in 1875 in Switzerland by Daniel Peters. The first chocolate factory in the United States was founded in 1765 in Dorchester, Massachusetts.
Today, chocolate is big business and is sold in every country in the world. The little cacao bean has come a long way.
About the Author
Rachel Williamson is a contributing writer for Eat This!, where she has written about the history of chocolate.