A bit of Chocolate - history

A bit of Chocolate - history

Many modern historians have estimated that chocolate has been around for about 2000 years, not even more. The earliest record of chocolate was over fifteen hundred years ago in the Central American rain forests.

The Cacao Tree was worshipped by the Mayan civilisation. Cacao is actually a Mayan word meaning "God Food" hence the tree's modern generic Latin name 'Theobrama Cacao' which means ‘Food of the Gods’. 

The Aztecs, like the Mayans, also enjoyed Cacao as a beverage fermented from the raw beans. The Aztecs called this drink Xocolatl, but since it was almost impossible to pronounce Spanish corrupted it to the easier 'Chocolat' an finally the the English further changed to Chocolate.

Chocolate was brought to Europe by Cortez - a young Spaniard who went to Cuba to find his fortune - and the first chocolate factories opened in Spain. 

The Cocoa beverage made from the powder produced in Spain had become popular throughout Europe and - in about 1520 - it arrived in England and it took almost a century for the first Chocolate House in England, which opened in London in 1657.

After 17th century many innovation changes happened and the invention of the steam engine made mass production possible. Chocolate Chocolate started to become as we know it today. 

Key chocolate moments

• The first chocolate made by machine is produced in Barcelona, Spain (1780).
• J. S. Fry & Sons uses steam power to grind the cacao beans for the first time in England (1795).

• In 1822 John Cadbury, who tried to convince people that drinking chocolate was much healthier than alcohol, opens a tea/ coffee shop in Birmingham(1822).
• The first manufacturer of chocolate - J. S. Fry & Sons - in England creates the first chocolate bars(1847). 
• Daniel Peter figures the perfect combination of milk and cocoa power and invents milk chocolate1875)

It's hard to pin down exactly when chocolate was born, but it's clear that it was cherished from the very star! And will be…