The Story of Chocolate

Chocolate was one of the hidden treasures of the New World, discovered by Columbus in 1492.

The beans of the Cacao tree were processed into a drink called Xocoatl by the Mayans and Cacahuatl by the Aztecs.  The Mayans had been cultivating the trees for several centuries, even before they migrated to Northern South America in 600 AD.

Chocolate went unnoticed by the Spanish Court until Cortez conquered Mexico in 1519, and brought back “chocolatl”, which had been served by the Emperor Montezuma, in goblets made of gold.

Chocolatl at this time was served cold and spiced with chili powders. It was a bitter drink that was unpalatable to the Spaniards, but with the addition of sugar, and leaving out the spices, it soon became fashionable in the Spanish Court.

When it was served hot, it became even more of a hit.

Cultivated and processed in secret for over 100 years by Spanish monks who were in the  Americas, the secrets could no longer be contained, and cocoa, as it was then called, spread throughout Europe, eventually coming to the low countries, England, and eventually to America.

Carolus Linnaeus  was dissatisfied with the name ‘cocoa’, and changed the name of the tree to Theobroma cacao. Theobroma, translated from the  Greek, is  Food of the Gods.

To make cocoa powder, the cocoa butter is pressed out of the mashed beans by a hydraulic press.

Later is was discovered that by adding back the cocoa butter  that had been extracted  during the process of making cocoa powder, that a new, richer form of chocolate could be formed into a solid.

Adding sugar made it ‘eating’ chocolate.

Adding powdered milk, discovered by  Henri Nestle, made milk chocolate.

Lindt invented conching, a method of heating and stiring chocolate numerous times until it becomes very smooth and creamy.

The Swiss Firm of Nestle owns the largest chocolate company in the world. There are many smaller chocolatiers, including Godiva, Ghiradelli, Hershey, Lindt, Baker,and many more.

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