Did you know that most of the world's natural chocolate is produced from beans farmed in Western Africa and some 50 million people around the world depend on cocoa as a source of living? Chocolate was first used in South America by the Aztecs and Mayans.
They collected the cocoa beans from trees and created a drink called Xocoatl which was usually consumed only during special ceremonies.
Then cocoa beans were discovered by explorer Christopher Columbus in 1502, but it wasn't until many years later that the use of cocoa beans really took notice.
Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortez first discovered that by adding sugar and milk a better tasting chocolate could be made.
Cortez presented this recipe to King Charles V and in turn the recipe for chocolate became a highly held treat that the Spaniards reserved only for royalty.
In 1544 a group of Mayans were brought to Spain by Dominican friars and soon after, the Spanish monks revealed the secret recipe and chocolate started gaining popularity in Europe.
In 1765, after many years of production in Europe, Americans discovered natural chocolate and built the first cocoa factory in America.
Soon Europe started building factories and looking for more ways to make chocolate.
Solid chocolate was not made until the 1830's by the British chocolate maker J.
S.
Fry and Sons.
The Swiss soon entered the chocolate market and after many years found a way to process and refine the cocoa to make chocolate into the taste and texture that we are familiar with today.
This process is known as conching.
Conching is the process that keeps the chocolate in a liquid state for up to 72 hours which in turn creates a higher quality grade chocolate.
The Swiss also discovered how to add flavoring to the cocoa which ended up making natural chocolate even more desirable! Today chocolate is one of the most recognizable flavors in the world and is used in many types of foods.
Most of the world's revenue from cocoa consumption comes from Europe.
As you can see the natural chocolate we have today is a product of many years of hard work and dedication.
What started out as a simple drink has turned into a world wide infatuation that many people crave.
They collected the cocoa beans from trees and created a drink called Xocoatl which was usually consumed only during special ceremonies.
Then cocoa beans were discovered by explorer Christopher Columbus in 1502, but it wasn't until many years later that the use of cocoa beans really took notice.
Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortez first discovered that by adding sugar and milk a better tasting chocolate could be made.
Cortez presented this recipe to King Charles V and in turn the recipe for chocolate became a highly held treat that the Spaniards reserved only for royalty.
In 1544 a group of Mayans were brought to Spain by Dominican friars and soon after, the Spanish monks revealed the secret recipe and chocolate started gaining popularity in Europe.
In 1765, after many years of production in Europe, Americans discovered natural chocolate and built the first cocoa factory in America.
Soon Europe started building factories and looking for more ways to make chocolate.
Solid chocolate was not made until the 1830's by the British chocolate maker J.
S.
Fry and Sons.
The Swiss soon entered the chocolate market and after many years found a way to process and refine the cocoa to make chocolate into the taste and texture that we are familiar with today.
This process is known as conching.
Conching is the process that keeps the chocolate in a liquid state for up to 72 hours which in turn creates a higher quality grade chocolate.
The Swiss also discovered how to add flavoring to the cocoa which ended up making natural chocolate even more desirable! Today chocolate is one of the most recognizable flavors in the world and is used in many types of foods.
Most of the world's revenue from cocoa consumption comes from Europe.
As you can see the natural chocolate we have today is a product of many years of hard work and dedication.
What started out as a simple drink has turned into a world wide infatuation that many people crave.
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