History of Chocolate
The history of chocolate as we know it today (smooth, milky and incredibly delicious) probably starts with the Cadbury’s name in the late 20th century. The true history of chocolate however starts hundreds of years earlier in the rain forests of Central America…
According to historians, the history of chocolate begins with the Mayan civilization. The earliest reports of a bitter chocolate drink date back to around 600CE (also known as AD). The Mayans took to adding chili powder to the chocolate drink to reduce its bitterness, but this in turn made it incredibly spicy and only suitable for occasional drinking.
From here the history of chocolate carries on through to the Aztecs – a later Central American civilization. It is thought that the Aztecs cultivated cocoa trees within their settlements so that they weren’t required to go scouring the forest for the beans. This farming of cocoa beans dates back to 1300CE and is still practiced by some tribes today.
The next significant step in the true history of chocolate involves its introduction to the people of Europe. The Spanish expedition of 1517 led by Hernan Cortes ended with the conquest of the Aztecs and everything they had to offer – including their chocolate drink. Seen as a luxury, the bitter drink was kept solely for the kings, queens and other nobility of Spain and other parts of Europe until the 19th century. The chocolate was plain, rough and incredibly bitter tasting but this didn’t stop the upper classes from wanting to try it.
By the end of the 19th century the bitter chocolate drink from the foreign lands had reached the majority of Europe. In most cities chocolate was still a very expensive luxury though and understandably it was hard to come by. Few of the people who got to try it actually enjoyed the taste, however nobody would publicly admit to this.
1847 saw the history of chocolate speed up, mainly due to the addition of melted cocoa butter and sugar. These small additions made the chocolate much more palatable and able to be molded. This in essence heralded the invention of the chocolate bar. In 1875 a Swiss chocolatier thought to add powered milk to the recipe, creating milk chocolate.
Today, we continue to have new brands and types of chocolate being introduced to our palates. With additions like nuts, marshmallow, and many other different kinds of fillings, the choices are nearly endless. Where chocolate will go from here nobody knows, but it’s fair to say it can only keep getting better.