Chocolate is a staple in many cultures. It might surprise you to know that chocolate has not always been sweet. The first culture to discover the wonders of chocolate were the ancient Mayans over 2,600 years ago according to the earliest recorded history. They consumed chocolate, as we now know it, in the form of a spicy drink.
Mayans grew cacao trees in their own backyards and prepared it by grinding dried and fermented cacao beans, mixing them with spices and water to make a thick beverage. As with today, chocolate was used to celebrate every type of religious and social functions.
As the Aztec culture became more powerful in Mesoamerica in the 1200’s their interest in cacao beans grew. They were not able to grow cacao trees in the more arid climate they inhabited and came to depend on the Mayans for its production. Chocolate quickly became essential to the Aztec culture. It represented a means of currency in the Aztec economy and was secured in much the same way we now store money in our banking system.
In the early days of chocolate consumption, it was available to all echelons of the Mayan population. It was not until it became more popular in other cultures less capable of producing cacao for their own consumption that chocolate became coveted.
The Spanish Conquistadors were the next culture after the Aztecs to discover the wonder of chocolate. They were not as enamored with the spicy drink but the addition of sugar and sweeteners to the drink made it more palatable to their refined taste. Spain reserved the sweet treat for their aristocracy and religious leaders for 100 years before other countries on the European continent became aware of the delicacy.
Just because chocolate became more widespread in Europe did not necessarily make it more readily available. In France, it was illegal to consume chocolate if you were not a member of the aristocracy. Britain opened chocolate rooms much like what we know as coffee houses today. Membership was restricted to men and later to those able to pay the admittance fee.
As the popularity of chocolate grew, in time so did the production systems. The Industrial Revolution introduced inventions that made chocolate more affordable. In 1828, a Dutch chemist created a machine to grind cacao beans and remove the cocoa butter to make what we know today as cocoa powder. Daniel Peter and Henri Nestle added cream to chocolate in 1875 to first introduce us to milk chocolate.
For America, a great boon occurred in 1893 when Milton S. Hershey discovered a chocolate processing machine at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. He went on to create a planned community in Pennsylvania that produces the most widely know source of chocolate in the United States.
Most cultures enjoy eating chocolate, however a few have never found a taste for it. In Asia, one bar of chocolate is consumed for every 1,000 bars consumed in Britain. Although the Ivory Coast in Africa is one of the leading producers of cacao beans more than 85% of the crops grown there are exported to the Netherlands for distribution to the rest of the world.
Today we still use chocolate to celebrate and share our love and affection with each other. On this Valentine’s Day, let us remember how fortunate we are to have this treat as we indulge in its sweetness.
Share some chocolate with the one you love!
